


The Evil Games

by BlackFeather45



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game), The Evil Within 2 - Fandom, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting, Except kidman, F/M, Hunger Games, I actually didn't plan to make one, I just noticed how many spoilers there were in the tags. Upsi, I'm sorry for the love triangle, Kidman is knife wife, OOC, Stefano Valentini being caring, Stefano is a bit ooc, can't make him that psycho in this au, everyone is ooc, she is just a bitch, since I think they suck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 00:27:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 25,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13376256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackFeather45/pseuds/BlackFeather45
Summary: The Hunger Games AU where Stefano Valentini is your mentor and Myra Hanson is your designer and you are a participant in the most deadly games in the world.Will you make it? Or will you die an unimportant death just like the other participants.





	1. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The intro of a sad song

_You could feel his breath tickling your neck. His strong arms were wrapped around your waist and his chest was gently pressed against your back._  
_It was so peaceful and calm._

  
You woke up with a gasp as someone ripped your door open.  
“Get up, sleepyhead. Breakfast is ready” Your little sister cheered and pulled you out of the bed, in which you had been sleeping alone. Completely alone.

As The Reaping got closer, you were often haunted by many peaceful dreams about a mysterious man. You never saw his face or his body, but he was always there.  
Wrapping his arms from behind you and holding you close, while you were cooking or sleeping or doing something else.  
It disturbed you, but you have decided to not talk about it with anyone. Especially not your mom who was a bit suspicious of you not having a boyfriend over the past 18 years. You didn’t even had the time to get a boyfriend or maintain a relationship in those years where you could have easily fallen victim to the government and being dragged into the capitol to participate in The Hunger Games.  
And maybe, if you were running on bad luck, you would have to kill your significant other and you weren’t ready for such a cruel step in your life.

  
You headed downstairs the small house you were sharing with your family and joined them for breakfast, before you and your sister got ready for The Annual Reaping.  
This year was the last time your name would be in that fishbowl, but your sisters nightmare will only start next year.  
You just hoped that the two of you would never have to stand on that podium and get on that silver train to the capitol to kill other children.

  
You put on your dark blue dress. It was a blue crepe dress with thin straps and a bowtie on the back. It was one of the few dresses you had and you liked it the most. You usually wore your working attire, but since it was the Reaping today and the capitols eyes were on you, you hd to look your best.

Usually you wore your rubber boots, old pants and a black top. You were working on your fathers boat every day, except today, not on The Reaping. You lived in District 4, the fishers district. You were one of those middle class families. You survived every day easily, had an own boat and had even a few employees on your own. Well your father did. You were just one of his employees.   
And another one of them was Sebastian Castellanos.  
He was a few years older than you and had gladly never participated in the games. He was twenty two and was helping out on the boat, working with your father with the net, while you were preparing the fish and getting them in their containers, making sure that everything stays on ship.  
You had became friends after he had fished you out of the water as he had accidently bumped into you and made you stumble off fishing-ship.  
You had never let him live that down. He had become a really close friend of yours. Sebastian had been there for you before your first Reaping. You had had several panic attacks that night and had cried in his arms. You now knew that he had also struggled that night. He had been scared since it had been the first time that he could lose someone of his new family. But until today none of your names had ever been read out loud by the well-dressed lady on the podium.

You got out of your room and over to your sisters and helped her with her dress and tied it in the back.  
Everyone had to be well dressed on this day and show the capitol their best looks. Even the ones that didn’t participate.  
You grew more quiet with every minute that you got closer to the moment.  
“Don’t make that face. I have prayed for you that you won’t be chosen. It’s your last time, everything will be okay” Your little sister said with a small smile and you nodded, managing a small smile on your own.  
You just hoped you could say this to her one day. The two of you got out of the room and downstairs. You gave your parents one last hug, before all of you made their way out of the house.

* * *

  
“(Y/N)!” You turned to the source of the voice and smiled a bit as you saw Sebastian walking in your direction.  
“I wanted to see you before The Reaping. May I have a moment alone with you?” He asked and looked from you to your parents and back at you.  
You heard your mom chuckle and your dad nodded, so Sebastian guided you away from them. You followed him as he stopped under a tree and pulled you closer and in a gentle hug. His arms were strong and the hug gentle. It reminded you of your dreams, but it wasn’t quite like them. You didn’t have that weird feeling in your stomach. Those... murderous butterflies. 

  
“What’s wrong?” You asked, not pushing back and even leaning a bit against his chest, enjoying the moment of closeness and warmth that came off of his body.  
“I have a bad feeling about today since the moment I woke up. It’s your last time, huh?” He said with a small smile and let go of you.  
“Yeah and I will make sure that we can keep on working together and that you can push me in the water another time” You said with a grin and earned a groan from the older man.  
“Just make sure to survive this day, Y/N” He said and left once again, your gaze following him. It stayed on his well trained back for quite some time. Why was a fishers-man so well trained. He could be a limberjack.

  
“What did he ask you?” You could hear your sister behind you and snapped out of your train of thoughts, glancing over at her.  
“None of your business, my lady. Now let’s go, I want this day to be finally over” You told her and took her by her hand and the four of you made your way to the podium.


	2. The Tributes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bye Bye little Sebastian

After they took your blood and put you on the list, like every year, you got in your lane between some other girls and waited for everyone to arrive. It took longer than usual or maybe you were just earlier than the other times.

Soon, everyone was standing on their place and the annual ceremony began.

Your heart beat quickened as a black haired woman walked out of the building. She was wearing a luxurious red dress and red heels. It wasn’t common for the people from the capitol to have black hair, but it was probably only a wig.  
“Welcome everyone” she said with a warm and cheering voice. She wished everyone wonderful hunger games and talked about the capitol for a while before the video was played, like every year. They sometimes changed a few details, but it mostly stayed the same.  
Your eyes stayed focused on the screen and when it was over they returned back to the lady. It was useless to search for Sebastian in the crowd, since he was now standing behind you in the rows of the people who can't  participate anymore or can't yet participate.  
“Now the moment has arrived to deciden which girl and boy will represent your district. District 4"

  
"Let’s start with the girls” She announced and walked to the right fishbowl and pulled out a folded white card.

She opened it and started to unfold it as she walked back to the microphone.  
“This years female candidate for The Hunger Games in district four is,...” She definetly knew how to give people heartattacks.

  
The raven haired woman waited a few seconds before she announced it.

  
“Y/N”

You could hear a gasp and suddenly people started to snap their heads around.

The gasp was most likely your mother.  
You didn't blame her. In fact, the shock of hearing your own name being said by the lady on the podium made you limbs freeze and you simply couldn't move. Your lips were dry and your eyes were wide. You felt like you would vomit any second.

Your worst nightmare had just occurred. Not only that your name had been said by her, but also the peacekeepers had to literally drag you out of your lane, since you were still paralized. You didn't fight back, just let them.

After some time your brain restarted and you started to walk again and freed yourself of the men, showing them that you could walk perfectly fine.

  
You made it up the stairs on your own and were welcomed by the black haired woman.  
She then proceeded to announce the male competitor, but you didn’t hear his name.  
Everything was blurry and out of place. Why you?  
Of all 14 000 people that liven in this district and half of them being children, why did it has to be you?

  
As the guy made his way upstairs, the woman said a few more words and you were guided inside the building, that was once the town hall.   
You were brought in a separate room where you had to wait for your family so you could say goodbye to them.  
You stood there, still paralyzed and sad and... you just couldn't describe how you were feeling.

  
“Y/N?” You turned around as you heard your mothers voice and a faint smile appeared on your lips.  
“Mom” You whispered out and stumbled over to her and hugged her tightly.  
“Five minutes” You heard one of the peacekeepers say, before the doors closed.  
You could feel a smaller figure hug you too, who probably was your sister.  
A few moments passed and the hug ended.  
“Don’t forget what I have thought you with the spear. Make yourself some friends and come home soon. Be friendly to the kid. He is good with weapons. He is Castellanos friend, often helped out in the fishery” You heard your father speak and nodded.  
“Just… just make it back home, y/n” You have never seen your dad cry and you didn’t thought that the government would actually succeed in doing so, but now you where here, looking in your fathers watery eyes.

  
You rushed over to him and also hugged him.  
“I will come home. Just keep everyone save, okay? And stay a good dad” I whispered and leaned back again.  
In the same time the doors opened and they were nrought outside by the peacekeepers. Those idiots definetly didn't know how long five minutes were.

  
“Survive” Your mother called out a last time and then the door was slammed shut.  
“I will try” You whispered to yourself and sighed.  
But this wasn’t everything.  
The doors opened once again and you heard quick steps and someone hugged you tightly. Your face was buried in the mans chest and you relaxed as you recognised the smell.  
“I will make sure that we can keep on working together and that you can push me in the water once again” You repeat yourself with a hoarse voice and smiled a bit as you heard him sigh.  
“I will come back Sebastian” You whispered and rubbed his back, him hugging you a bit tighter, but staying gentle.  
“You have to. I don’t want your dad to fire me” He said and let you go.

  
“Good luck, Y/N and come home soon” He said and ruffled your hair like he always did.  
The doors opened again and he was pulled out by the peacekeepers, never breaking the eye contact with you till the doors closed and you were left alone again.

  
A few moments passed and the doors opened a last time. You were being guided out of the building and to the silver train on the other side of the house.  
You got inside and the doors closed after you.  
You exhaled and let the tears fall as the train moved.


	3. Welcome on the Train

You were sitting next to the black haired man. The male Tribute of district four. His name was Joseph Oda and he was the same age as you. He was one of Sebastian’s friends, like your father had already told you. He had instantly recognised you as the fishers daughter.

  
You haven’t talked much, just nodded every now and then. You couldn’t find the right words, but you didn’t want to make him uncomfortable as he was talking to you. He was pretty talkactive for someone who had just been chosen for the Hunger Games. Maybe it was his way to deal with stress.

  
“There you are. Have you already met each other?” The raven haired woman walked in your compartment.  
“Oh, I am sorry. I should have introduced myself right away. My name is Laura Victoriano, pleased to meet you, Tributes of District Four” She said with a small smile, but neither of you said something. You just nodded softly. Being polite.

  
“Well, I will get your mentor. I wonder where he is” She said after a while and walked out once again, leaving the two of you alone.  
“I wonder who our mentor is” You said, those being your first words on the train.

  
It was still hard to talk after your breakdown, but you decided to accept your fate and just play along. Everyone has done it before you, so you can do it too.

  
“It is probably Stefano Valentini. He had won the games a few years ago. District four. I think he had been 16 but I am not sure” Joseph said as he looked at you and you nodded at the received information.  
You weren’t good with keeping track with the games. You remembered every location and any situation of the games that you have already watched, but you couldn’t remember all the winners.  
“Good afternoon” The two of you turned around as a male voice from behind of you greeted you.

  
Your mentor was a dark haired man, his right eye was covered by it. Later Joseph told you that his eye had been damaged in the arena and even the best doctors in the capitol couldn’t save it. They offered him artificial sight but no one knew if he had actually accepted it or not.

  
“Hello” You whispered out as you eyed the man.

  
He was young. Around Sebastian’s age. He was wearing a blue suit and a red scarf with matching leather gloves. He wasn’t shying away from luxury. His suit was fitting him in all the right places, making him look like a man of noble status. Well, technically he was one. His good looks and charming smile couldn't hide how exhausted and sad he looked. Was it also awful for him to be on this train?

  
“I am your mentor, and I will try my best to make sure that one of you survives those god awful games. Any questions you already want to get rid of?” He asked as he walked past the two of you and sat across of you, smiling softly as he eyed Joseph and then you.

  
“How high are our chances of winning” You asked straight away.

He smiled as his eyes landed on you. His eyes scanned you, taking in every centimetre of your presence.  
“It depends on who will represent district one. The other districts have their methods. Your winning chances are pretty high if you never meet the district one tributes in the arena” He said and you nodded softly, lowering your gaze a bit.

  
You somehow couldn’t hold eye contact with the man.

  
Something about him seemed so familiar to you, but you couldn’t point out what it was.  
He seemed to notice it that something was troubling you, but he didn’t bring it up, since he also noticed that it had nothing to do with the upcoming events.

  
After he had answered some of Joseph’s questions, he then told you a few things about himself and his own game.  
He had participated with 16, just like Oda had said. It had been seven years ago. He was only a year older than Sebastian, but looked way much older. Maybe it was of the exhaustion painting his face.  
Wasn’t the life of a winner supposed to be filled with peace and luxury?

How could he look worse than a man that had to work since the early morning every day and some days barely surviving if the catch was bad.  
Sebastian had never looked so tired of live like your mentor did.

You zoomed back in reality and listened to the conversation between Joseph and Stefano, but excused yourself after a while.  
Laura had showed you your cabin earlier and you got over there, sitting down on your bed. You could feel a panic attack rise as your breath got quicker and your sight started to get blurry. Your head started to spin. It was awful. You closed your eyes, hoping it would get better.

  
“Are you alright?” You heard Mr Valentini and then some quick footsteps.

His arms wrapped around you and were holding you close.  
You gasped and buried your face in the man’s jacket and let the tears fall as you tried to calm down. His arms were strong and trained. And they reminded you of someone, but you couldn't quite point out who. Your mind was also occupied with your panic attack, so there was no chance that you would remember the peron you tried to recall.

He didn’t gave you much space, but it calmed you down somehow. Then it hit you like a silver capitol train, just as the panic attack calmed down.

  
It was just like in your dreams. His scent. His arms. His appearance. It was him. It was the man you had dreamed about shortly before the reaping.

* * *

 

 

You opened your eyes slowly and looked around. You were still in your room, but you haven’t noticed that you had fallen asleep.  
It was dark outside and you were still driving. Laura had mentioned that your drive might take two days if nothing comes up. Sometime it also took three days, but you didn’t mind it at all. You were thankful for every moment away from the capitol.

  
You just now started to notice that you weren’t alone.  
You looked up as you were laying in someone’s arms. Stefano had fallen asleep next to you, holding you close.  
It must have been one of those bad attacks if he had decided to stay.  
You took a closer look at his face. There were faint circles underneath his eye. His skin had a few scars, which were obviously from the games. His perfect brown hair, looking soft and slick. He was so goddamn handsome.  
You run your fingers over a scar by his chin, not even thinking of touching the area by his covered eye.

He had his reasons for not showing the world his eye and you respected that.  
“You have calmed down” He whispered and you pulled your hand back.

  
“Sorry for keeping you here. You could have left as I had fallen asleep” You said and he unwrapped his arms again.

  
You instantly wished he hadn’t done that. You had felt somehow save in his arms and now you were alone again, alone and cold.

  
“You didn’t stop crying after you had fallen asleep, so I decided to stay” He said with his soft voice.  
“I’m sorry for keeping you here. You probably didn’t sign up for babysitting a tribute” You said and slowly sat up and got out of the bed but he pulled you back, what made you yelp.

  
“Don’t ever think that. You are now the capitols property, so you should act like that. Take everything what you want and give nothing in return. Don’t apologise to people for being selfish in this time. You might win the game but if you don’t you should take as much as you can with you. Take in all the luxury and use the people around you” He said everything with such passion.

He truly must hate the capitol.

  
“May I ask you something?” You whispered as he let you go slowly.  
“Of course” He said and eyed your face.  
“Why do you look so exhausted? The games are already over for you, aren't they?” You asked and a small sigh left his lips.

  
“As I said, you are the capitols property now. It won’t change after the games. Since the moment Laura had read out your name, your life has been given to the public and to the capitol” He said and pulled a hair strand behind your ear.  
“Female and Male winners get the same treatment. It seems cruel to say this, but every year I hope that the youngest never survive the games and I hope you won’t have to see what I mean” He said and got up slowly and put on his shoes and jacket, which he had taken off before he had decided to stay with you.  
“I will see you for breakfast” He said and left you alone.

What did he mean? Why didn’t he want the youngest tributes to survive? It did seem cruel and heartless just like he had predicted and it still left you clueless. You could only imagine what he had meant to tell you.


	4. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Embarassing moments happen, plans are being made. Just your tipical day at the evil within HQ

“Good morning” You yawned as you walked in the dining wagon.  
Joseph and Stefano greeted you back, but Laura was no where in sight. She was probably still sleeping or making herself ready.  
“Have you slept well?” Joseph asked and you nodded softly.

  
You had changed in some black skinny jeans and a dark sweater and some combat boots.  
Your hair was up in a high, but loose ponytail.  
“How long till we reach hell?” You asked and poured some coffee in your mug.

  
“About a day and a half” Stefano informed you with a small smirk and went back to his conversation with Joseph.

  
They were talking about the games. About the cornucopia to be exact. What weapon it contains and other stuff. Also about the cornucopian bloodbath that occured every damn year. People will never learn.

  
You excused yourself as they went into details and left the wagon after putting your dishes away. You walked to the last wagon of the train with your coffee mug in your hand and sat down on the soft bench by the rear window, watching the sceneries pass. You were driving through some woods, but you couldn’t tell in which district you were at the moment.

  
“District Seven. Filled with forests and good wood. The lumber industry” You looked over your shoulder as you heard Laura in the doorway of the wagon.  
“Do you often pick up the Tributes?” You asked and turned around to face her and watched her.

  
“No, it’s my first time. I will be doing this for the next few years. I was pulled into this after my brother decided to be a game maker” She said and got over to you and sat down next to you.

  
“I really wish the two of you could just leave this train. But we both know that this is just wishful thinking” She said and touched your cheek gently with a small smile.

  
“I hope my brother will be easy on you”

  
It was sweet of her to form such a bond with you, even if you were promised to death or the capitol if you should somehow survive that goddamn game and the other tributes.

  
“I wish that this would just stop, but such thinking will get me nowhere, will it” You chuckled and placed your hand over hers.

  
“You shouldn’t form bonds so easily” You added and squeezed her hand gently what made her smile.

  
“My brother used to say the same” She chuckled and got up.  
“Enjoy the luxury till we arrive. As you have said it: You will either die or will become the capitols property” She said and left again.

  
Well if she said so, you did as you were told and decided for a bath.  
You got up and walked back to your cabin and got in the bathroom and let the warm water inside the tub. The world of luxuries.  
You got in the tub and enjoyed the warm water on your skin. You closed your eyes with a sigh and relaxed for the first time since your name has been pulled out of the bowl.  
Fuck the capitol.  
Fuck the games.  
Fuck everyone and everything.  
You got out of the bathtub after a long time and dried yourself, wrapping the towel around yourself and walking back in your room.  
Someone knocked on your door and got inside without awaiting your response.

  
“Y/N, we would like to-…. I’m sorry, I didn’t know… We are waiting in the food wagon. Please join us when you are ready” A tomato red Joseph murmured and rushed out of the room, the door sliding shut after him.

  
It made you chuckle. His reaction had been cute. You didn’t even cared if he had stayed or anything, since you had a towel wrapped around yourself and nothing had been revealed.  
You put on your clothes and headed over to the wagon in which they had had breakfast just some time ago.

  
“You called” You said as you entered, meeting the other three there.  
A grinning Stefano, a beet red Joseph and Laura who was scolding him were awaiting you.  
“Come here, we have the tributes of the first district” Stefano said and you got over to him and sat down across the table next to Joseph, who was still a bit red in the face after Laura had put a hold in her scolding and next to Stefano.

  
“Who is it? Do we have a chance against them?” You asked, hope making its way in your voice, where it shouldn't be.

  
“You should try to avoid them. They are good fighters, but not so well in reading tracks. You will be fine if you won't search for them and try to kill them” Stefano said and the two of you nodded.

  
“That’s all for now. If we know more, we will make sure that the two of you will know it” He said and you nodded once again.

  
You didn’t want to leave and be alone in your room again, so you stayed by the three of them and listened to Laura still telling Joseph how rude he had been.  
It felt so real and made you feel save somehow. Like you weren’t on your way to the deadliest games in history.  
You didn’t notice Mr Valentini watch you over the whole time as you were listening to Lauras speech on how men should show more respect to women.  
You soon excused yourself after it got darker once again and got in the last wagon and checked through the files of the other tributes.  
Tatiana Gutierrez, District 8.  
Juli Kidman, District 2.  
Leslie Withers, District 11.  
…

  
“Thinking of any good tactics?” Stefano asked from the door of the wagon and got closer to you. You looked up as you heard his voice and smiled softly, making some space for him to sit down next to you.

  
“No, just looking who will try to kill me in a few days” You said with a faint smile and looked back at the people and sighed.

  
You would reach the capitol the next day and you really didn’t want your journey to end. Not now. Not so soon.  
“You are smart, little one. You will survive this easily, but are you also ready to kill for the sake of your live?” Stefano asked out of a sudden and it made you look up from the screen and look into his uncovered eye.

  
“I don’t know”

  
He suddenly seemed to be another man. So mysterious.  
He studied you with his gaze and it made you somehow uncomfortable.  
“Is there something wrong Mr Valentini?” You asked and he shook his head slowly.

  
“It always seem like I know you from somewhere. Like a dream” He said and got up slowly.

  
“Sleep well, y/n. We will arrive tomorrow, so try and get some rest” He said and kissed your forehead and left again.

  
Was this kind of affection normal between a mentor and a tribute or did he also had those dreams like you have?  
Since he was definitely the guy from your dreams, was he also dreaming of you?


	5. Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw. The Administrator is the president, but there is no name stated in any wiki, so I made one up.  
> It's a mix of his label.  
> Adam Strate. Admin Strator. Administrator.  
> Don't ask me how I came up with that

You drove through a tunnel and as the train reached the end of it there it was.

_The Capitol._

  
Water seemed to surround it completely, but you knew that the Capitol wasn’t built on an island, but a small part that was still connected with the normal land.  
The capitol itself was huge and luxurious. High buildings standing next to each other, reflecting the sun like some kind of tall mirrors. The reflection of the water dancing over the walls of the nearest skyscrapers by it, making it look like the capitol was directly build on water. 

  
You drove in the train station and were welcomed by bizarre dressed people as you stepped out of the train. The fashion in the capitol always amused but also amazed you.

  
What kind of drugs did you had to take to decide to look like a lion for a day.

Fashion.

You would never understand it.

  
Your little group got out of the train and into the cheering crowd. No one got too close to you, since a bunch of peacekeepers didn’t let them.  
You were escorted to the remake centre where your personal prep team would prepare you for the events before the hunger games. Making you look beautiful and appealing for potential sponsors.  
You stayed silent the whole time and let them humiliate you.

  
Leg waxing, arm waxing, moustache waxing, bikini zone waxing. It hurt like hell and you felt like you were being tortured.  
Stefano had warned the two of you about this on your train ride, but he didn’t mention that it was _this_ painful.  
They did your eyebrows and gave you a manicure and pedicure. You didn’t know why you needed that, but decided not to ask.

  
They washed you a couple of times and scrubbed off dead skin and got rid of all the pimples in your face, for what you were actually thankful, but would never admit it.

  
After they were done with you, you were brought in a separate room and had to wait.  
You waited a long time and took in your surroundings. You didn't even know what you were waiting for. Or for who.

  
You were laying on a metal bed, like in a prison cell. The room was also made out of steel. There was a steel platform with different utilities. None of them seemed to look dangerous. Waxing strips, scissors, razors and other stuff.

  
You sat up as the metal door swung open and a blonde woman walked inside.  
“Hello my dear, I am Myra Hanson, your designer” She said and shook your hand.

  
It felt like you were having a business meeting.  
“Normally people congratulate me for being a tribute” You said as you pulled your hand back and she smiled softly.  
“I don’t think there is a reason to do so” She said and pulled up a chair.

  
“So you are from district four, fish industry” 

* * *

 

  
You had a nice talk with the lady and she told you a bit about your costume for the chariot rides and the interview with the most famous television star, Oscar Connelly.

  
Oscar Conelly had his hair shaved and always had the wildest make up creations on his face. His clothing was always matching the art on his face. His ears were always wearing expensive piercings.

  
She soon got you your dress and helped you in it. The Tribute Parade would soon start , since all other tributes have also already arrived.

She guided you over to where the chariots where already waiting.  
Joseph was already there. He was wearing a weird mix of a suit and a jumper. The suit was light blue, decorated with muscles and fish. His eyes were shaded with a deep blue, but not too dark, so it wouldn't look like he had a black eye. He was wearing fishing gloves, which were black.

  
“Looking good” You said with a small smile as you reached him and just noticed how he was staring at you.

  
You were wearing a short dress in the same colour as his suit. The underskirt was a golden fishing net, just like his jacket, which were representing the fishing nets you often used to work with.  
Your hair was decorated with muscles and blue and white glitter.  
“You sure know how to make my district look like a piece of art, Myra” Someone said from behind Myra, making you, Joseph and Myra turn around to see Stefano and Laura.  
“You look amazing, y/n” Stefano told you as his eyes scanned you. 

  
“Thank you” You said with a small grin.  
Myra and Laura looked at each other with a small smile and got over to Joseph, Laura praising Myra’s work, making her seem like a goddess.

Maybe she was a goddess in this business, but how would you know. A girl from district four that had never met such people and were suddenly friends with them.  
“I remember your costume. You hadn’t looked bad yourself either on your Tribute Parade” You said as you walked closer to Stefano, what made him smile a bit.

  
“Always staying classy, miss (l/n)” He said and a weird sound alarmed all of you that the parade would soon start.

  
“I will see you at the training centre. And don’t forget to smile and show them that you are proud to be a tribute. It will get you more sponsors, which will keep you alive in the Arena” He said and the two of you walked over to the others and Joseph and you got on your chariot.

  
**Sponsors.**

It was all about them. Men and Women from the capitol that had the money to change your situation in the arena. Laura’s brother being one of them. Not only a sponsor but also a gamemaker. What an interesting man. Laura hadn’t told you much about him on the train ride, just that it was hard to please the man. No one had actually succeeded in that task. No potentional lover or a good business-man. No one could please Ruvik Victoriano and no one knew how.

 

Some last words were spoken between your little group and then The Parade started with the first chariots leaving the hall. Your chariot was one of them since you were in district four.  
Joseph was a bit nervous, but still managed to stand straight and show the crowd the false pride in his face and posture.  
As much as you hated this play, you also did it. Putting on a proud smile and presenting yourself to potential sponsors and the capitol itself.  
You reached the balcony of the president and as soon as every chariot arrived, the man spoke some words to the awaiting crowd.

The president, _Adam Strate_.

  
He held a speech and welcomed all the tributes in the capitol.  
“And we wish you happy 24th hunger games” The president announced.  
“May the luck always be with you, Tributes” He finished and stepped back as the crowds started to cheer louder.

  
The chariots drove back and over to the hall where you came from. Some of your rivals checked you out, but you tried not to pay much attention to them. There were still the training days, where you would have enough time to get a look at them.  
You were welcomed by Laura and Myra, but Stefano, your mentor, was nowhere in sight.

  
“Let’s get you over to the training centre. I really want to see your faces when you will see your new home” Laura cheered and guided the two of you out of the small hall.

The other tributes also left the place soon, everyone was pretty exhausted or just wanted the day to be over.  
You headed over to a skyscraper in the middle of the city and drove up in a lift to the 14th floor.  
“This whole floor is only for you to use. The other Tributes don’t have access to this floor, just as you don’t have access to their floors. We don’t want the games to start too soon, do we” She said and her words made you really uncomfortable, so did her smile.

  
“This is the dining platform and there is the living area. There is your bedroom, Joseph and this hall leads to your quarters, y/n” Laura said and you nodded.

  
You noticed servants standing in nearly every corner and you instantly recognised them as the Avox. So it wasn’t just a story to scare kids, they really existed.  
People who got their tongues cut out by the capitol, as they betrayed the system.

_Mute._

  
Their sight made you hate the capitol even more. Remembering how cruel the capitol could be.  
You made your way down the hall, which Laura had told you should be your bedroom and actually found it.

  
It was huge and a king sized bed was standing in the middle of it. There were windows instead of walls on two sides of the room and you had a perfect view over the city. Not really high, since it was only the fourteenth floor, but high enough.  
There was a remote to change the view, but you decided to leave it how it was, not wanting to fool yourself.

  
You sighed and sat down on the really soft bed and looked out of the window. You hadn’t bothered to switch on the lights, since you could see in the weak illuminated room just fine.

  
“Why me?" 

  
“I had the same thought ghosting my mind at this time” Stefano said from the doorway and walked over to you, sitting down next to you.

  
“There will be people in the arena, trying to kill you, betraying you. But I can’t tell you if the life as a winner is worse than those few days in the game” He said, his eyes fixed to the view.

  
“Where have you been?” You asked, looking over at him and studying his face, which was filled with sadness and exhaustion once again. The face of a winner.

  
“Art gallery. Just a few streets away. I enjoy it, to look at art. Do you want me to show it to you after dinner?” He asked and looked over at you with a small smile.

  
You were actually pretty exhausted, but you could sleep when you were dead, which might be pretty soon actually.  
“I would love to” You said and it made him smile even more.

  
You could use a distraction of the upcoming events and you have never been in an art gallery. Would be nice to visit one before you were murdered live on TV.


	6. Photographs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is the meaning of this?

Dinner took a bit longer than you thought it would.  
Mr Valentini informed you about the upcoming interviews and the training that will take place the next three days. You should train, yes, but you should also study your opponents, watch and learn. Make sure who is easy to kill and whose path you should try to never cross.

  
You should also try out different kind of weapons. Even if there would be a spear, the two of you shouldn’t run directly to the Cornucopia, since you didn’t want to be the first to die.

  
He had already told this to Joseph on the train ride and seemed to stress it this time.  
You have watched the games before and knew what he was talking about. But it was probably really horrible and terrifying if you were live there.

The Cornucopia Bloodbath was a huge event in the arena every year. Many tributes died in a short amount of time while the rest was being tortured by the game makers.

You were informed about your training session for the next few days. They would start at 9:00 am and you should be ready at 8:45 am to get over to the training floors.

Easy.

  
You had to get up at 4 am at home so this was basically like a vacation for you. But only the waking up times. The rest was way worse than the life at home.

  
After dinner you headed over to your room and put on one of the plain dresses. If you didn’t have to, you would never wear one of those extravagant costumes ever again.

  
You headed back to the living area, where your mentor was already waiting. He had decided to change too and was now wearing a black suit with matching black gloves.

  
“Where are you heading?” Laura asked from the dining platform, where her and Myra were still talking over a few glasses of wine.

  
“I’m showing her the gallery” Stefano said with a small smile and Laura nodded.

  
“Don’t stay out too late” Myra said, like a mother to her children and the two of you nodded and headed out.

  
“You look stunning, Y/N, once again” Your mentor complimented you and it made you blush a bit.

  
“You don’t look bad yourself, Mr. Valentini” 

 

  
“It’s right here” He said and guided you inside a building a few buildings further from the training centre.

  
He showed the peacekeeper a card and the two of you were let inside.  
There was no one there except the two of you.  
“Did I miss a memo, or why is no one here except us?” You asked as you looked around and back at your mentor.

  
“It is already closed, but since I am one of the artists that has their work on display in here, I can visit this place any time I want” He informed you and showed you the card he had showed the peacekeeper just a few moments before.

  
It was a kind of VIP card. There was a picture of him and his name and the name of the gallery, you guessed.  
“And I decided that you shouldn’t be unnecessary confronted with people that see you as a star for being chosen to participated in the games” He added and put the card back.

  
“You are an artist?” You asked after a while.  
You had walked past the lobby and inside the gallery.

It had a high ceiling, so that even the bigger pieces could be displayed.  
“The media never showed this side of you” You said as the two of you walked past a few photographs.

  
“I try to keep it a secret, but still display my work with my name signed to them” He said as you stopped by a photo of a lumberjack, face dirty and sweaty.

The photograph was black and white.  
The title was “7” by Stefano Valentini.  
You looked at the next one and there was a dirty woman on it, wearing a grey overall and was covered in black patches.  
“12” by Stefano Valentini.  
“You are traveling the districts?” You asked, but you didn’t took your eyes of the black and white photo of the lady from the coal mines.

  
“The capitol isn’t very fond of it, but they don’t forbid it. As long as I don’t talk to the people or disturb them with their work, the capitol won’t stop me” Stefano said and got closer to you, guiding you to the next picture, his gloved hand on your back and pushing your gently forward.

He stopped by the next photograph and inhaled sharply.  
“Now I remember” He whispered as the two of you looked at the next photograph.

  
Also a black and white one.  
On it there was a girl, standing in knee high water with a net in her hands. A fishing net.  
She was wearing a dark top and dark plastic pants. Her hair was up and held back with a light piece of cloth or some kind of scarf. She was facing down in the water and concentrating on her work.

  
It was you.

  
“You looked so beautiful while concentrating on your work. I simply couldn’t forget you” He whispered and you could feel his eyes on you, but you couldn’t take your eyes of the picture.

  
“Just like now” He added and placed his fingers under your chin and turned your head around gently, making you face him.

  
“I never thought that you were this young” He said, a small smile creeping up on his lips as he drove his thumb over your bottom lip.

  
You didn’t move or say anything over the whole time. You couldn’t. You just stood there, eyes locked with your mentor, who kept studying your face.  
“I have seen you” You whispered finally.

  
You remembered the moment. It had been a hot summer day and the water had been cooling your legs for a few hours, that you had been standing in the water. You had tried to catch something with the spear before, but the fishes had been small that summer, so you had changed your working tool and had used the net instead.  
It had been the first time you had been fishing with the net alone, while Sebastian and your dad had been on the boat a bit off coast to try to get some of the bigger fishes in the net.

  
You had heard a clicking sound, which shouldn’t disturb the fish, since it had been faint, but it had surprised you, since it had been something new.  
You had looked up and around, looking for the source of the new noise. The only possible source you had spotted had been a man in a blue suit that had been walking away in the same moment as you had looked up.  
That was when the dreams had started before The Reaping’s.  
It had been two years ago and you had been sixteen at that time.  
“I think I have dreamed about you” You got slowly red as you noticed that you had said that out loud.

  
“I…- I am so sorry. That must sound creepy. Please forgive me” You mumbled out and took a few steps back, away from Stefano, only to lean against the wall.

  
At least you didn’t knock off any photos.  
You managed to look up in the man’s face and he surprised you anew. There was a smile on his lips and he hummed softly as he got closer.  
“No wonder that you seemed so familiar. It feels like I have been knowing you for a long while and not for a few days, y/n. I have also had dreams about you, the girl in the water” He said and you nodded slowly.

  
What was the meaning of this?


	7. Family

“I wish I had the answers you are seeking, my dear, but I must disappoint you. I haven’t even heard about any kind of drug or technology that made people dream about each other” He said and took a few steps back, giving you more personal space.

  
“Let’s just call it fate then” You said after a short pause and smiled softly.

  
“You surprise me every time, Y/N"

  
“I will take that as a compliment” You said with a soft giggle and went on, walking through the gallery and looking at the photographs of Stefano and other artists, after the man had stepped back and gave you some space.

  
He was the only one who displayed the different attributes of each district and worked excessively with people.  
Especially with people from other districts.  
You complimented his work often enough or even just stared at a particular photograph of a person.

 

* * *

 

  
The two of you soon headed back to the training center and got in the lift. You were feeling pretty tired by now and a clock showed you that it was pretty late anyways.

  
As you reached your floor, the lights had been long out and everyone was sleeping, except the Avoxes.  
At least Laura and Myra weren’t there to be mad at the two of you.  
“Do you think they will still serve me a mug of hot chocolate?” You asked Stefano with a smirk.

  
It had been a joke, but right as you said it a server walked up to you and help up a mug with warm liquid in it.  
“Oh. Thank you” You said surprised and could hear Stefano laugh softly.

  
“They will bring you anything at any time of the day” He said and squeezed your shoulder gently.

  
“Get some sleep and I will see you tomorrow for breakfast” He said and kissed your cheek and walked away.

  
You looked after him and touched your cheek gently, lost in your thoughts. You walked to your room while thinking about the dreams and your relationship with Stefano.  
He was your mentor and starting to be a good friend of yours, just like Laura and Myra and Joseph were.

  
As you reached your room you put the mug down on the nightstand and got in the bathroom, taking a quick shower before returning to your room and sat down on the bed, mug in your hands and looking out of the windows.

  
“Why me?"

  
The city of luxuries and wealth. The capitol.

 

* * *

 

 

  
You woke up with a scream and sat up straight in your bed. It was still dark outside and the lights illuminated the room a bit.  
You couldn’t even remember when you had fallen asleep and you couldn’t remember your nightmare so well. It was about the games, but you couldn’t remember more details about it.  
You could hear quick footsteps and a voice, but you couldn’t make out what they were saying.  
“What?” You asked as you turned around and looked at Stefano, who slowly got closer to the bed.

  
“Are you okay?” He asked again and you nodded softly, what made him sigh.

  
“No, you clearly aren’t. I will get you some water” He said and was about to turn around and leave you alone again, but you interrupted his movements as you grabbed him by his wrist.

  
“No. Please. Can you just stay with me?” You asked and watched him turn back around and walk closer to you and the bed.

  
“Of course” He said and laid down next to you as you made him some space, inviting him in the bed.

He wrapped his arms around you, holding you close, just like in those dreams as he got under the blanket.  
“Thank you” You whispered and buried your face in his chest, closing your eyes.

He was shirtless and was wearing black silky pants.  
But you didn’t mid it. It was even warmer and let you calm down easily.  
You didn’t wanted this moment to end, but you fell asleep once again, but this time in his arms.

 

* * *

 

 

  
“Wake up or you will be late for training” Stefano whispered in your ear and you groaned and turned away.

  
You didn’t want to face the world at the moment. You would die anyway, so why not staying bed for a while longer.

  
“You need to eat something for breakfast. Even if I have to force feed you” He said and slowly got up with a protesting whine of you.

"It's your kink anyway. Am I right? Forcing people to do shit" You murmured, still half asleep.

He chuckled and moved to get out of bed. This alarmed you!  
The source of the warmth was ready to leave the bed and you couldn’t allow that.  
“You are staying. Fuck breakfast” You murmured and pulled him back down with a force, you didn’t know you had.

  
You opened your eyes and looked in Stefanos face, his own full with surprise and so was yours.  
“Are you this weak in the morning?” You asked and grinned at your mentor.

  
“Don’t test me” He whispered and smirked, getting up again and off the bed.

  
“You still have thirty minutes till the training. Get dressed and eat” He said and left.

"Sir, yes, sir" You murmured and groaned a last time after he haf left.

  
Those words would seem to be cold to a bystander, but they were filled with warmth and care.  
You did as he told you and got up, dressed and got over to the platform on which the table was placed with the chairs. Everyone was already there, except Joseph.  
“He will meet you on the training floor” Myra said with a small smile and you nodded and took a sip of your water.

  
“Why is he allowed to skip breakfast, but I have to eat?” You asked and instantly earned a lecture from Laura. 

  
“You are way thinner than the boy and you need to eat healthy. Since you probably didn’t sleep enough-“ she eyed Stefano and looked back at you”- You have to at least eat something for breakfast. We can’t risk you breaking down in the middle of training and showing your weak side to your opponents” She sat down as she finished and you started to eat with your head down, but with a smile on your face.

  
You didn’t ever imagine that someone would care about you after being called out as a tribute.

You felt so loved even if you were this far away from your family.  
That made you think about them. How were they? Were they well? Did your dad still work? You just hoped that they didn’t take a break from working, just to watch every footage on TV that you appear in.

 

You finished eating and excused yourself to go to the bathroom and brush your teeth before heading to the training floor.  
The others had wished you a good day and cheered you on as you left the apartment and headed to the elevator.  
You reached the training area and got over to the others.

 

* * *

 

 

The training soon started.

You were introduced to each other and afterwards you were shown around shortly and the weapons were presented to you.  
Meanwhile the sponsors were watching you.

One of them, looked a bit different and behaved a bit different. While the others were eating and talking cheerfully, he was just sitting there and studying all of you. His eyes often stayed on you or Joseph.

  
He was probably Lauras brother.

 _Ruvik_.

Actually his name was Ruben Victoriano, but everyone called him Ruvik.  
He was blond and his eyes were ice blue and just as cold as his posture. He seemed distanced to the other sponsors, but every time someone talked to him, his entire mood shifted and he became a friendly person and pretty chatty.

You soon started to train and test out the capitols weapons. The weapons with which you would have to kill some people in this room in only a few days.

  
You checked out the spear, but soon changed your weapon. You didn’t want your opponents to know your speciality.  
You watched them and got to know some of them.

Joseph soon arrived at your side and you exchanged a few information about the others. Not much, since you didn’t want the others to grow suspicious, but enough, to know who you should observe more.

  
He told you about Juli Kidman, from district two.

  
She was good with the knives. Any kind of knives. She was the same age as you, but better trained. There was a rumour going around that the first and second district were training their teenagers, so that they would volunteer once they turn eighteen.

It would even make sense, since the majority of the winners were from those two districts.

  
She was doing pretty terrifying moves so you went on training on your own and watching the others.

  
You spotted a white haired kid. You soon recognised him as Leslie Withers. He was from district 11. He had pretty light skin for someone who was probably working in the fields every day.

  
He was sitting in the little forest area and trying to make fire. You had seen him before by the berries and leaves, probably studying which were poisonous and which were edible.

  
“You have to move downwards when you rub your hands together” You said as you crotched down next to him.

  
He looked up at you and his face was displaying confusion.  
“Here, I will show you” You said with a soft smile and placed your hands over his and started to move them.

  
Soon there was soft smoke coming up from the wood and it actually lit up.  
“Fire” He whispered and you nodded softly.

  
“You did it” You added and got slowly up again.

  
You had read in his file something about a mental disorder. That they even made people like him go into the arena was disgusting.  
If the kid needed help, he should get it. If the capitol has enough money to spend it on clothes and jewels and the latest technology, they should also think about the population.  
But this wasn’t the world you were living in.

This wasn’t reality, just wishful thinking.

  
You got back to your training. Climbing, throwing heavy weights and training with some different weapons. You didn’t see many people stick to the spear, so maybe it would be left at the cornucopia and you could try to get it after the bloodbath.

 

* * *

 

 

  
Soon the day got to an end and all of you were dismissed and headed back to your floors. This would be your day schedule for the next few days.

  
You had to present yourself on the last day for the sponsors with your weapon of choice. No one else would watch, just a few sponsors and the game makers, such as Ruvik.

  
You arrived in the apartment with Joseph. The two of you were pretty exhausted and headed right over to your own bathrooms after being greeted by Laura and Stefano.

Myra had to leave to keep her shop updated, but had promised to be there for dinner and a few others from Josephs prep team would maybe also join you.

  
You got under the shower and washed off everything.  
If felt so good and soothing. You just hoped that you wouldn’t had any aches tomorrow or the next couple of days.  
You got back out and dried yourself and got dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, combat boots and a Bordeaux sweater. It was the same colour as Stefanos scarf and gloves.

  
You headed over to the dining platform and met up with the others. Joseph and you were asked about your training and soon you were all exchanging information about the other tributes.

  
After some time, Joseph and you headed over to your bedrooms, since you were pretty exhausted and went to bed. You needed some rest before tomorrow and hoped that the nightmares would leave you alone tonight.


	8. Don't want to die

_You were running through an abandoned city in the desert. It was hot and district one was hunting you._  
_You were reaching your limit, wheezing and gasping for the hot air._  
_Your head spinning._  
_Your sight was getting blurry._  
_Pain_  
_Something sharp pierced your shoulder and you screamed. An arrow._  
_You fell to the ground and another arrow pierced your abdomen from behind, making you cough up blood._  
_You couldn’t breathe._  
_The blood was just everywhere._  
_You could hear someone chuckle and a shadow was suddenly above you._  
_“Goodbye, four” A male voice and sliced your throat open._

  
You woke up with a loud scream and had your fingers wrapped around your throat. Your skin was covered with cold sweat. Your face was also wet from your tears and you were shaking.

  
“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die…” You repeated the whole time as you got up from the bed slowly, only to fall to the ground and on your knees, gasping softly.  
You heard footsteps, but they were faint and the sound seemed so far away.

You heard someone talk, but couldn’t understand what they were saying.  
“Don’t want to die” You gasped out, tears streaming down your face.

  
You chocked out a sob as someone wrapped their arms around you and held you close.  
It was a tight hug, but the person wasn’t suffocating you.  
It took you a long time to calm down.

You cried in the persons chest and were a shaking mess overall. 

  
As you calmed down you noticed that everyone was there.  
Joseph, Laura, Myra and Stefano who was holding you.

You have probably woken them all up with your scream. You were suprised that no one from the upper or lower floor had made their way here to kill you.

  
“I’m okay” You whispered with a shaky voice and looked up in Stefanos face, his eye covered, but the other one filled with worry.

  
“I will stay with you again” He whispered and pulled you close again.

  
He nodded the others away and you two were left alone again. He picked you up and got on the bed with you.  
“Do you want some water?” He asked you and you nodded softly.

  
Your throat and lips were dry and it hurt when you were swallowing.  
“Here” He whispered and you leaned back a bit and took the glass from him with shaky hands and took a few sips of it.

He was so caring, it nearly made you cry. You missed your family so much, but knew that you maybe won't see them ever again.

  
It felt so good to have the cold liquid hydrate your dry throat. You thanked the Avox and Stefano with a small nod.  
“How can Joseph sleep so peacefully” You whispered out with a hoarse voice as you gave the glass back to Stefano.

  
“He probably has other ways to cope with the stress. I can get you sleeping pills if you want. I should have done that before” He said and got under the blanket with you as you already crawled under them.

  
“No. It’s okay. I don’t want to take any medications. You never know if the capitol had messed with them"

 

He snorted softly and brushed his fingers through your hair and holding you closed against his chest.  
“Sleep a bit, my dear. I will be here when you wake up and we will still be here in the training center” He said and his soft lips touched your forehead, what made your face heat up a bit, but you didn’t say anything and just dozed off again.

 

* * *

 

  
“ste….- seba…. Sebastian…..” You were whispering something though your sleep as Stefano was still awake and rubbing your back.

  
“Stefano…:” You buried your face in his chest and sighed.

  
You stayed silent afterwards and he also fell asleep soon, but not with a small stinging pain in his side. Was this jealousy? And who the hell was Sebastian anyway?

 

* * *

 

  
This time it was your turn to wake up first. You leaned back slowly and sat up on the edge of the bed and looked out of the window.  
You took a glance behind you at Stefano and watched him.  
He was a really handsome man. Even when he was asleep.

 _Especially_ when he was asleep.

  
His hair had shifted and his damaged eye was revealed. There were some veins on his cheek and forehead. His eye wasn't the only thing that was injured. It looked like some kind of poison had damaged his veins or something. It looked like a bird's-nest with the eye being the center of it. It wasn't disgusting in any kind, it was more like a piece of art itself.

 

You smiled softly and looked back at the window and got up, walking over to it and taking in the view.  
The city looked better when it was dark and it was shining in all those colourful lights. Now it was just a city out of steel.

  
“Did you get some sleep, bella?” 

You turned around as you heard his voice and furrowed your brows as you analysed what he had just said.

  
“What did you just call me?” You asked softly, not being offended, just curious.

  
Since everyone was speaking the same language, you were a bit perplexed to hear a word you had never heard before.  
“Bella. My family developed another language, just so that no one knew what we were talking about. It can be translated to the word beauty or beautiful” He said and watched you from the bed. He was laying on his chest, chin on his arms, eyes on you.

Studying you.

  
“Oh… yeah. ..."

"I slept a bit. And thank you for the compliment I guess” You said a bit flustered. Your cheeks had taken in a soft pink colour.

  
You weren’t good with compliments and especially not this early in the morning.  
“Should we head over to breakfast?” You asked him and walked slowly over to the bed and crotched down in front of him.

  
“Sure, let’s go” He said and sat up slowly and leaned over to you, kissing your forehead and getting off the bed.

  
“What’s up with all those kisses?” You suddenly asked him. You didn't mind them, but they startled you a bit each time.

  
“I don’t mind it, but what are your intentions, Mr Valentini”

  
“Who is Sebastian?”

 

Well this was a game changer.  
How did he know about Sebastian?  
“How? …. What are you talking about?” You asked him surprised.

  
You were about to be murdered in a few days and he was asking you about another man!?  
Was he jealous?  
“You have been saying his name through your sleep. Is he someone important to you? Your lover perhaps?” He asked, now his voice filled with concern and worry, but there was also a hint of something spicy. 

Jealousy perhaps?

  
“No. He is just a good friend of mine. We are working together for my father” You informed him and changed to a fresh shirt, already wearing a bra, so you didn't mind as he saw you like thay.

  
“Do you want me to… no…. never mind…. You won’t die in the games any way” He said and left your room, leaving you alone, surprised and confused.

  
He actually believed in you? But what was this all concern-jealousy-thing just now?  
You decided to shake off the weird feeling and got dressed for breakfast and met up with the others by the table.

* * *

 

 

Everyone asked you if you were okay and you assured them that everything was okay.  
Even your opponent, Joseph was concerned about your well-being.  
It made you believe more in the bond the two of you had formed.

  
You had made a deal, that you would try to stay together. Even if you didn’t knew each other so well and even if there were other people with whom you could form a better alliance, he was the only one who you actually trusted.

  
He was good with an axe, despite being in district four and you couldn’t go wrong with someone like him as your partner.

 

* * *

 

 

The two of you soon headed over to the next training session. It went on like this for the next few days.

  
Wake up

Train

Eat with the other tributes for lunch

Train again

Head back to your floors

Shower

Eat dinner

Head to sleep

Wake up in the middle of the night with a scream and being comforted by Stefano, with him never asking you about Sebastian ever again.

 

On the last day, Joseph and you headed over to the training hall after breakfast. You felt so exhausted just of being awake. The stress was getting to you just now. The day where you had to present yourself to the sponsors. To show them your speciality. Today was the day where you were being graded. Today was the most stressfull days of all those training days.

But you wouldn't show it to your opponents, that you were stressed out or nervous about this whole thing. Not now. Not on the last day. Never.

 


	9. Steel

Joseph and you got on your seats and after some time, the tributes were called in one by one to present themselves.

At first the boy of the district and then the girl. After it the next boy from the next district was called up to show his skills with a weapon of choice.  
It didn’t take long and Joseph Oda was called in, him leaving your side. No one knew what was happening inside, since the people that walked inside, didn’t come out again. They were probably leaving through another exit.

  
“Y/F/N” You heard your name through the speakers and got up and walked through the door and in the hall you have been training in yesterday and the days before.

It looked different today. The weapons were all stocked on a small wall. The dummies were gone and all the little stations with for example the little forest were also gone.

The only thing that was still in the same place was the audience box for the sponsors and gamemakers.

  
“You have ten minutes to present your best skill. Make it count” Ruvik told you from the upper platform where everyone was.

  
You should surprise them right away. Right now when all their attention was still on you.  
Suddenly a few dummies appeared in a circle. You knew that they were made out of a stronger material and not just cotton or those soft materials that you could easily cut through. It was really hard to cut or pierce through them.

Not even the knife wife, Kidman, had managed to cut through them before in the training sessions.

  
After your new found strength that you had noticed back then when you had managed to pull Stefano back in the bed, you decided to try it out and cut through those figures. It was a risky move to try something like this out in front of the jury, but you decided to go for it all. You would die anyway, so why not? You had no chance against knife wife.

  
You found the spear and stood in the middle of the dummies. You took in a deep breath and moved. Two quick steps to the front and a swing to the right with your dominant hand, aiming at the neck of one of the dummies.

  
There it was.

  
The sound of steel cutting through steel.  
A cold but satisfying sound.  
You didn’t stop there. You moved in circles from dummy to dummy and cutting them in half.

  
The last one, a symmetrical cut through the middle of its body. After some seconds each part fell to the ground with a hollow sound.

  
“Thank you for your attention” You said and bowed down in front of the sponsors and looked up slowly.  
They were silently looking at you and Ruvik was standing on the edge, taking a close look at you. His eyes scanned you and a small smirk appeared on his lips as he took a sip from his fancy looking glass.

Did you actually managed to please the man, that could bot be pleased?

  
You put the weapon back from where you had taken it and headed over to the exit and walked out of the training hall.  
Just as the doors closed behind you, you leaned against the wall and tried to catch your breath.  
Your hands were shaking a bit and your arms were aching. It had been hard but you had succeeded. The steel had been resistent as you had thought. But you still managed to go through with your plan.

 

Now you only had to wait in front of the TV and wait for the announcement of the scores.  
After your body had calmed down, you headed back to your floor, where everyone was talking with Joseph and asking him about the sponsors and what he had performed.

  
“Y/N!” Stefano called out as he looked up as you walked in the living area and smiled at you.  
“YOU HAVE SLICED ALL THE _STEEL_ DUMMIES!?” Laura called out as she rushed over to you and looked at you with widen eyes.  
There was a spark in them what made you smirk.  
“Yep. Your brother was on edge” You said and she grinned.  
“I am so proud of you two” She announced and pulled you in a breath-taking hug.

  
After a few more words, you decided to take a shower just like Joseph. Afterwards the two of you reunited with the rest in the living room.  
You were sitting on the couches and talking about the past events.  
Joseph told you what he had shown the sponsors.

  
Decapitation of all dummies with the axe.

You knew he would take the axe, but didn’t knew that he was also that strong to cut through steel.  
“I think the dummies that they left for me were made out of cotton” He said and you smiled softly.

  
“You are still pretty strong, partner” You cheered him up.

  
You kept on talking for a while till it was time for lunch. The scores would be announced after dinner, so you still had plenty of time.  
“Do you want us to show you around the city later?” Laura asked with a wide smile.

  
She really must love the capitol.  
“I would love to make a small visit to the gallery again, if it is okay” You said and took a sip of your water.

  
“I will escort you there” Stefano said and Laura watched him with squinted eyes, while Myra was studying him, trying to find out what his intentions were.

  
“You are a bit overprotective over y/n lately, Stefano” Laura muttered and held up her head with her hand as she studied him with a small smirk on her lips.

  
“Could it be that you had fallen for a tribute?” She asked and you chocked on your drink and started to cough heavy.

  
Joseph leaned over to you and slapped your back gently, trying to help you get the water out of your lungs and it actually helped.  
“Don’t do this again” You whispered and looked at Laura with another few coughs.

  
“Why are you asking? Are you perhaps interested in her?” He asked with a sly smirk and she leaned back with a roll of her eyes and this is how the discussion ended and the subject was changed.

 

* * *

 

  
After lunch, you changed your clothes and headed out with Stefano to the gallery.  
He was wearing his blue suit again with his scarf and leather gloves. Just the same outfit as you had met him in.

  
The two of you headed over to the gallery while people were watching you and pointing fingers at you. A winner and a Tribute. It wasn’t a usual sight in the capitol. Especially when you weren’t shielded by a huge group of peace keepers.

  
You got inside as Stefano showed his card again, but this time you didn’t walk into the gallery.  
Stefano pulled you to the side and guided you to a door.

  
“Private”

Was written on it. He pulled his card through a slit and the door popped open and the two of you walked inside.  
“Where are we going, Stefano?” You asked, but he didn’t answer you, since your question should be soon answered.


	10. Date?

You reached a huge room and he switched on the lights.  
It was filled with old paintings and photographs. It was the storage room, where all the unbought and old paintings were kept that the artists didn’t revive.  
“You should have a look at these in here, since you weren’t here when they were on display” He said and let you look around as he stood back and watched you.

  
You looked over a few photographs and paintings, but one made you stop in your tracks. It was a 200 x 60 canvas with a black and white painting on it.  
“Is this why Laura had asked you about me?” You asked and turned around to look at Stefano who was suddenly right in front of you.

  
You let go of the painting of the photograph that had been portraying you and looked in the man’s ice blue eye.  
“I don’t think that the painting is the reason why she asked about it” He whispered and wrapped his arm around your waist, holding you close and giving you no room to escape the grip.

Not that you wanted to.

  
“What do you mean?” 

  
“I usually distance myself to the tributes I am the mentor to, since I didn’t respond well to their deaths, but you are the first one I let so close to me” He whispered against your cheek.

  
His breath was warm just like his body.  
“Well then… I will put more effort in surviving the goddamn games” You said and smiled a bit, what also made the winner smile.

  
He leaned in and his lips brushed against yours. His breath was tickling your skin.  
Right before anything could happen, he leaned back and took a few steps back, leaving you back, confused and surprised.  
“Make sure you win. I don’t like to wait” He said and you grinned, the confusion washed away.

* * *

 

 

  
The two of you got back out of the gallery and headed downtown.  
Stefano showed you around and took you out to a quiet bar where you had a few drinks. Of course you didn’t have to pay since he was a winner and you were a tribute.

  
Winners didn’t had to pay for the rest of their lives, but of course there was the side effect of being used by the capitol.  
“I hope you enjoyed our little date” He said as you walked through the city, back to the training center.

  
“This was a date?” You asked with red cheeks and a hot head.

  
You looked up and it made him laugh softly.  
“Yes, this was a date” He said and wrapped his arm around your waist, holding you closer.

  
The two of you earned some glances as you were soon recognised by the passing people.

  
“I did. It was nice not to have to think about the games and just have a bit of fun” You said and looked in his eye with an honest smile on your lips.

  
You leaned into him a bit as a breeze rushed through the streets of the city, which he noticed.  
“Let’s get back soon” He whispered and picked up his pace.

 

  
Little flying robots soon appeared and were watching the two of you as you walked back in the training center, but they didn’t follow you inside.  
“What were those flying drones?” You asked as the two of you got in the lift.

  
“Cameras. They will probably ask you about me in your interview” He said and you sighed.

  
“What should I tell them then” You sighed and lowered your gaze.

  
Tomorrow was the interview with Oscar Connelly. He would ask you about some personal stuff and you should answer them so the sponsors would be pleased with your answer.  
It was hard to survive without sponsors.  
“What they want to hear” He said and the door opened and you headed in your apartment.

  
Everyone else was already gathered in the living room and waiting for the points.  
They called the two of you closer and Laura gave each one of you a glass of champagne.  
“It will soon start, it will soon start” She chanted and then the TV hologram lit up and there he was.

  
_Oscar Connelly._

  
He said something about the Tributes and how the points were gathered and esteminated and what value there was to them.  
He soon started with district one. Thankfully you two were district four.

  
“Juli Kidman… 11”

  
You sighed. You knew she wasn’t to be underestimated, but you had never thought her to be this good. Or hoped she wasn’t this good.

  
Connelly soon reached district four. Male candidate first.

  
“Joseph Oda…. 10” No one said anything yet, but you and Joseph made eye contact as Connelly announced your name.

  
“10” Everyone cheered and you and Joseph congratulated each other.

  
Laura hugged Joseph tightly and congratulated him with a huge kiss on his cheek.  
Myra gave you a motherly hug and told you how proud she was of you, what made you feel warm inside.

  
10 was a good score, it will get the two of you some sponsors. You actually wanted to know about Leslies score, but would just look it up in his file later.  
You celebrated for a while, before you and Joseph went to bed first.

  
You took a shower and were sitting on the bed and looking through the points of the others.  
Leslie had somehow gained 5 points and it made you a bit proud, knowing that he wasn’t down to zero.  
Tatiana from district 8 had gained nine points and was right underneath you.  
She had been good with the dagger while training. She and Kidman had formed an alliance over one of those lunches you all had shared together.

  
Joseph had agreed to take Leslie under his wings, but he had told you that if the kid would act up or run in the enemies arms, he wouldn’t help him.

  
He would help you, but not the kid.

  
You had understand it and agreed on it. You didn’t want to loose the only alliance you had. And it was such a good one.  
“Still awake?” Stefano asked from behind you and got in the bed, pulling the blanket up and covering you up to the neck.

  
“You should get some sleep before your last day” He said and pulled you closer after you put the screen away.

  
“Do you have already something planned for the interview?” He asked, his face buried in your hair as he was holding you from behind, just like in your dreams.

  
How did the two of you even got that close over the span of a few days? You weren’t even _this_ close with Sebastian, even if you have been crushing on him sincr the first day he had started working for your father. But as he hadn’t shown any interest in you, you had dropped your feelings for him pretty quickly.

  
But Stefano was different.

You got so close so quickly and you didn’t know why. Were you some kind of soul mates? Was it only because of his photograph and your dreams?  
But anyone could have been that man in your dreams. Anyone.

  
“No. I will just wing it. I can’t memorize stuff that well when I am being put under pressure” You said and placed your arms above his.

  
“How come we are so close to each other, even if we know each other only for a couple of days?” 

  
His eyes were closed but he smiled a bit.  
“Ever heard of love at first sight?” He asked and opened his uncovered eye.

  
“I don’t know much about love” You admitted and he leaned in and kissed your forehead.

  
“I will make sure to teach you everything about it, once you win. This will be your reward” He whispered and rubbed your back gently, only pulling you closer.

  
“Promise?” You asked in a whisper, already dozing off.

  
“Promise”


	11. Close

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M such a laZY FUCK!!! I'm so sorry for not updateing for such a long time and for not replying to comments :c  
> I was really busy studying and with finals week starting tomorrow, I'm a bit stressed out.  
> I'm not making any promises but I set an alarm for next Sunday. Maybe I will update the next chapter then.  
> I'm so sorry. I'm currently also rereading the older chapters and rewriting some stuff. So if you see any mistakes, don't shy away and just point them out in the comments. Since I don't have a beta reader there are probably a lot of mistakes :D

The other first tributes of the districts were already called up. Now it was your turn. District four, starting with the female tribute.  
You walked up the stairs in your blue glitter dress. Some of the elements made it look like it was made out of water and in the bottom were swimming little fishes in it.

  
Myra was a goddess.

  
You were greeted by Mister Connelly with a tight hug and he presented you to the audience.  
Finally you had reached the night of your interview.  
The day had stretched itself out for good and Joseph and you had waited the whole time the day to be finally over.  
Tomorrow at noon the hunger gameswould start, but nothing was so stressful as this goddamn interview, on which your victory depended on partly.

  
“Your dress is amazing, y/n. How do you feel tonight?” Connelly asked you.

  
You thanked him and went on with the small talk for a while, before he asked the question, you actually thought he wouldn't ask.  
“Now tell us y/n, what was this all about?” He asked and let a tape play on the big screen.

  
It was the tape from the cameras that had been stalking Stefano and you on your little date.  
“Do you have a thing with your mentor, Mister Stefano Valentini?” He asked with a grin and the audience cheered.

  
“May I tell you something Oscar?” You asked after a short while and he scooted closer.

  
“Sure thing, y/n” He said with his superstar smile.

  
“Have you ever fallen in love with someone over only a few days?” You asked and the crowd cheered and Connelly chuckled.

  
“Young love it is then” He announced and you leaned back again with red cheeks and a shy smile, what made the crowd cheer more.

  
He asked you a few more questions about you and the winner of district four and soon left you off the stage.  
“Good act” Joseph congratulated you, before he went on stage.

  
You had nodded at him briefly and rushed out of the room, your breathing getting quicker. You didn’t want the other tributes to see you like this and walked away, not looking where you were going and run directly into someone.  
The man caught you and held you close.  
“It’s okay, y/n. It’s over” You heard Stefano whispered and nodded in his chest as you inhaled his scent and tried to calm down.

  
You soon did and leaned back a bit with a small smile.  
“Excellent act” Laura cheered as she reached the two of you, with Myra and some of your and Joseph prep team following them.

  
“Let’s wait for Joseph and head back to your floor again. You should eat and sleep a last time and get some good rest” She said and as if on cue Joseph walked up to you.

  
He was a bit pale in the face and he stayed silent over the whole way back to the apartment.  
He had told you before that he wasn’t a fan of such events and neither were you.

  
You all soon arrived in the apartment and ate dinner and headed to your rooms afterwards. The grown-ups stayed up a while longer, while Joseph and you were already in bed.

  
But you couldn’t sleep at all.

  
You were sitting by the huge windows and looking out at the city. Your hair was up in a high but loose pony tail and you were wearing an oversized shirt and your sweatpants. Well the capitols sweatpants. Since nothing in this room actually belonged to you.

  
You leaned your forehead against the cold window and stared down in the colourful lights.

  
“Fuck you, Strate” You whispered and sighed.

  
You just wanted to see your family again. Your sister. Mom and Dad. And even Sebastian. You missed your best friend dearly.  
“I hope you are all alright” You whispered to yourself and closed your eyes, touching the cold window with your hand.

  
“Didn’t Laura told you to get some sleep?” Stefano said from the doorway and you slowly turned around as you heard him talk and eyed him.

  
It was dark in the slightly illuminated room, but you could still make out his features and his face.  
His voice sounded so monotone and sad that it made you turn around.  
“Your interview was good. You have gained many sponsors. Love always cheers on the capitol” He said and walked over to you and helped you up slowly.

  
“It wasn’t an act, if you also started to think this. I have promised myself to you if I should win tomorrow and I hope you will remember this. I hope you will be there when I walk out of that goddamn place as a winner” You whispered as you stopped walking to the bed and had stared in his blue eye.

  
He smiled and brushed some hair strands out of your face.  
“I remember and I will be there. Waiting for you” He whispered and leaned in and kissed your forehead, like many times before.

  
_soulmates_

 

It crossed your mind only once. It was stupid but maybe valid.

  
He guided you in the bed and cupped your face with both of his hands and looked in your eyes.  
“You will come back to me and I will help you get back up again. I will wait for you and I will do anything you want. You gave my live a meaning again, y/n. You let the art inside of me wake up again” He whispered and caressed your cheeks with his thumbs.

  
“I know that you haven’t lied in the interview. And I want you to know that I feel the same about you. But you have probably known it already” He added with a small smile and let go of you again.

  
The two of you got under the blankets and stayed close to each other.  
Stefano fell asleep after an hour of small conversations, but you stayed awake till 4 am before you could somehow fall asleep.

 

Soon you would fight for your live in one of the most deadly game in history, hoping to survive and to return to district four, to your family with Stefano.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I already said, I will try to update next Sunday. Stay safe till then! And to everyone who has finals this week, I WISH YOU GOOD LUCK MY CHILDREN!!!


	12. The Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya guys. I'm out of town tomorrow, meeting some people, so I decided to upload the next chapter today. Since I know that I will only forget it later and probably won't update till the next time.   
> So here is your next chapter :)

Today was the day.

Today was the beginning of the Hunger Games.

* * *

 

You woke up around 8 am, covered in your own sweat and your breathing out of control, having an anxiety attack.   
Your mentor had woken up immediately and helped you through it.

You had had another one under the shower and had started to cry hard in there, sobbing loudly.  
Stefano had to kick in the door as you had locked it before going for a shower.  
He had wrapped you in a towel and held you close.

  
You noticed around breakfast that Joseph himself wasn’t also in his best form.  
He was paler than usual and Laura had to push the fork against his lips, before he took it himself and gave in, eating at least something.

The two of you shared a long conversation over eye contact, before breakfast was finished.  
You knew that Laura had been there for him over the couple of days as your mentor had been there for you. Stefano had asked her to, since he had been pretty occupied with your attacks. You had apologised for it endless of times, but everyone had just told you over and over again that it was all right and that you shouldn't worry about it.

* * *

 

As you returned to your bedrooms, there was only a pair of black thermos leggings in the closet and a black thermos long sleeved undershirt.

Would it be in the water? But then it would be swimming suit or not?

It would be probably a winter wonderland then.

After getting dressed, you headed back out as you put a pair of heavy boots on that were also in there.  
Joseph was wearing something similar and soon the two of you headed to the lift and drove up to the roof top, where a hovercraft was waiting for all the tributes.

Stefano was there with the two of you and told you a very important thing that sometimes gets forgotten.

“Don’t get off the platform till the countdown is down. There is dynamite that will explode if you do. Run away and not to the cornucopia. Try to get a backpack. They are usually lying around the cornucopia and not inside of it. Don’t light up fire when it’s dark and even if it’s daytime, don’t let it burn for too long, or the others will find you,  by  seeing the smoke. Just stay save and try to survive you two” He said and smiled weakly at the two of you and the doors opened, revealing a huge hovercraft.

  
The two of you nodded and Joseph made his way to the aircraft while you stayed back and went for a big hug.

“I will be watching over you” He whispered and hold you close.

You held back your tears and nodded before the two of you let go of each other and you went over to the hovercraft, not looking back once. You knew that it would only cause you unnecessary pain, to look at the man you had fallen for, leaving him alone in this goddamn city and this broken world. You prayed that you would stay alive and survive for the sake of your family, your friend and him. For him to hold his promise. For you to return alive.

You sat down next to Joseph, who greeted you with a small nod.  
The capitols workers injected you a tracker, that would let the game makers know your current location and occasionally triggering a trap.

* * *

 

The flight was calm and mostly quiet. Not even the tributes from district one were saying anything. Didn’t threaten anyone or barked insults, what you had expected from the district one tributes, but they also stayed silent.

The hovercraft landed soon and each of you were guided to your LaunchRooms by a group of peacekeepers.  
Your doors opened and you saw Myra and exhaled sharply, running over to her and tackling her in a tight embrace.

“Easy Y/N” She breathed out, but reappreciated the hug.

As the two of you let go, she stepped back and handed you over the rest of your outfit.

“I thought that you would be quicker with sweatpants than the snow pants they had provided” She said as she helped you in the thick white jacket and handed you over a pair of white grey sweatpants.  
The designers were allowed to change the outfit, even though they also didn’t knew how the arena looked like.

You thanked her and put them on over your leggings, that were there to keep you warm. There was definitely snow involved.  
“Thank you for everything over the past few days. Please take care of Stefano if…. If I” She interrupted you with a gentle hug and nodded softly.

“I will, sunshine. I will personally inform your family too if you want” She whispered in your ear and you nodded softly.

“PLEASE GET INTO THE TRIBUTE TUBE IN ONE MINUTE” was announced loudly through the speakers in the room.

“That’s my cue then” You said with a weak smile and she smiled back.

“We all believe in you. Even Joseph does” She whispered and you looked at her, your gaze filled with visible confusion.

“He doesn’t have anyone to return to, you know” She said as you two walked over to the tube.

“He promised Stefano that he will do anything for you to survive and asked him for his support as a mentor” She went on as you didn’t seem to interrupt her.

“Don’t leave his side. He is your ally” She added and you just nodded as she guided you in the tube.

“We are waiting for you, y/n” She said and the tube closed up as the voice counted down to zero.

“Goodbye” She mouthed, as the glass was too thick to let through any sound.

The platform slowly rose and you were launched into the arena, just like the other tributes.

 

You first didn’t understood why the two of them didn’t tell you anything about their plan or actually more of a deal. They probably thought you would start to act up and maybe avoid Joseph in the arena. If this was the case, they were just stupid as hell. If that was Josephs decision, you wouldn’t push him away from it. Hell, you would even stick to him more, since if you would leave his side and make him look for you, he only would put himself in danger. And if the two of you would just stick together from the beginning, you even had a chance to survive.

But why didn’t he trust you with that information? Why hadn’t he been clear about his point, about his deal, the whole time?  
At least Myra had told you, or you might have put him in unnecessary danger off from the start.

But you decided not to think about it anymore. You had room for only your four goals in your mind.

  
Get a backpack.

Run away.

Find Joseph.

Survive.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making you wait so long. I was busy applying to colleges c:  
> This chapter is kinda beta-read.  
> I hope you like it ;)

Bright light hit your face as the tube platform drove up to the edge. It was cool in the arena and all of you were right.

Obviously.

  
There was snow everywhere.  
You could see mountains behind the silver cornucopia and as you turned around, there was a forest behind you. It stretched around the whole valley, stopping before the mountains. To your left there was also open space that led up to a high mountain. There was probably nowhere to go and probably the edge of the arena.  
You decided not to run there.  
The countdown soon started and you looked around, looking for Joseph. You spotted some dark spots in the snow between you and the cornucopia. That’s where the backpacks were.

**10**

  
Joseph was nowhere next to you. He must have been positioned across of you.  
Hopefully he would also run in the forest and not in the mountains.

**9**

The others were starting to move around on their platforms, taking in a good position to make a quick sprint to the cornucopia.

**8**

Others were looking around just like you, trying to find their allies.

**7**

You soon spotted Leslie and decided to grab a bag, run to him and drag him over to the forest and hide with him.

**6**

Then you would look for Joseph. Good thing that you had already spoken to Leslie about being allies beforehand.

**5**

You were getting a bit anxious, but would make sure to survive the first few minutes

**4**

You couldn’t just die in the first minutes and give Joseph no reasons to protect Leslie, right?

**3**

There was a loud scream and an explosion.

**2**

Someone had gotten off their platform and had already died.

**1**

The canons shot, signalising the death of the tribute.

_**0** _

There was a loud sound coming from the cornucopia, making everyone know, that the games had started.

No one moved at first, scared of the explosives.  
You inhaled sharply and jumped off of your platform and made a run for a backpack.  
You soon heard other people jump into the high snow and running.  
Soon hearing screams on the battleground, but you turned around and ran over to Leslie, who was still on his platform. You jumped up and dragged him down of there. In the same time an arrow flew right past his head, but you didn’t look around to look who it was. Instead you just dragged the two of you into the forest. Leslie was squirming under your grip and you let go of him as you were deep enough. You bend down a bit and tried to catch your breath.

“Y/N, Y/N” He keeps whispering it and walked over to you and hugged you gently.  
It was probably the way he showed his gratitude.  
You just nodded and indulged the hug, knowing that you had no time for such things and had to move on as quickly as possible and find some water, what might be hard if it would be probably frozen up.

“We have to move on, Leslie” You whispered and he nodded and let go of you slowly.  
You took his hand and guided him through the forest. You heard ten more canons go off.  
eleven tributes had died over the span of only a few minutes.  
Now only the survivors and attackers were left.

The moves of the attackers would be calculated from now on. The survivors, such as you and Leslie, had to make the best out of it and take advantage of your surroundings.

You were walking for a while now with the backpack on your back and your cold hand being held by Leslies warm one as you suddenly heard someone run through the forest.

You told Leslie to hide behind a tree, while you hid behind another one and looked around.  
“Joseph!” You hissed as you saw the other Tribute, but held back from running over to him as you saw an arrow flew by his head and cut open his cheek.

You got to the ground and opened the backpack. Soon you found what you were looking for. A rope.  
You got back up and hissed Josephs name another time and the boy looked in your direction and you held up the rope. He nodded and run in your direction. You hid behind the tree again and threw the other end of the rope over to Leslie.  
“Hold it tight, okay. And pull when the bad guys are close” You whispered over to Leslie who nodded.  
His expression soon changed and it became more serious.

Joseph soon ran past the two of you between the trees and went on. He had held up two fingers, only for you to see.

Two attackers.  
From the noises and laughs you could hear, those were probably a boy and a girl.  
They were close and started to run as Joseph picked up his pace.  
You nodded at Leslie and the two of you pulled at the rope and the two Tributes fell in the hard snow.

You had found something else in the backpack and hit the guy with it in the head. A metal water holder which was really hard.  
It got a dent in it as you hit the guy, but at least he was knocked out.

Meanwhile Leslie had wrapped the girl with the rope somehow. You didn’t thought he was capable of anything else than being scared.

“Good work, ally” Joseph breathed out as he reached the two of you.  
He had an axe in his hands and was ready to swing it.  
“Wait. I will get Leslie away from the scene. Don’t want him to suddenly loose it and start to scream” You said and Joseph nodded and waited till you were some meters away and turning the other way.

Truth to be told, you weren’t ready to see this yourself.

You knew that you wouldn’t make it out alive out of here if you didn’t kill, but you couldn’t do it just yet.  
It still made you sick in the stomach, whilst Joseph had already adapted to the situation and would do what was necessary to bring you back home to your family.  
And to Stefano.  
This man.  
He never left your thoughts.  
Even if he should. Now it was all about you and your life. You should push the feelings you have for this man to the side and concentrate on staying alive.

You heard many hits, a few grunts and the cracking of a skull and bones.  
Soon you also heard two canons go off and Joseph walked over to you and squeezed your shoulder and nodded. You let go of Leslie, but didn’t allow him to look back as you did the same.

The three of you soon went on with your journey. You had soon bribed over Joseph to search for a lake or river to get some water. Hunting would be harder in here, since many animals, if there were any, slept in the winter.  
You found some bushes with berries on your way and Leslie had recognised some. Some had been poisonous, but some were save to eat.  
As Joseph hadn’t want to believe him, Leslie had offered himself up as a test object and simply ate them, without many words. After some time Joseph had allowed you to also eat them and had also swallowed some on his own.

The cold weather was drying out your throat and lips, but you decided that it was better than a desert.

On your way through the forest you didn’t meet anyone else, but you heard a few more canons go off.  
It made you wonder if the others had fled to the mountains. You had noticed that there hadn’t been many trees on the mountains, just a few, so you didn’t understand why anyone would make the mistake and run up there.  
It was just an open battlefield, just like the snow valley with the cornucopia in it.

You soon hear water splashing and Leslie suddenly ran for it.  
“Leslie! Wait up!” You called after him and ran after him.  
Joseph hissed and followed you. He had tried to hold you back but you had freed yourself and ran after the kid, only to be stopped by the sound of a canon going off.  
“No” You whispered and dropped to the ground.

Not the kid.

Not Leslie.

He had only been twelve years old. How could anyone kill a twelve year old mental ill person?

“No” You repeated and tears streamed down your face.  
Joseph leaned down and whipped them away with the sleeve of his jacket. Not risking it them to freeze right on the spot.

How could anyone kill such a helpless child?   
How?

But then again, those were the hunger games. There could be only one winner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't probably update next Sunday, since I will be gone on vacation. I wish you a wonderful week peeps and if you are writing any tests or exams right now, I wish you good luck! You will do it!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO TERRIBLY SORRY FOR MAKING YOU ALL WAIT SO LONG FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!   
> I didn't beta-read it yet since I just wanted to update this fanfic as soon as possible. I am sorry about any mistakes, I hope you will forgive me.

You swallowed down the tears and soon got back on track, following Joseph in the forest. You soon became tired of the whole journey and the sadness.  
“Can… can we take a break?” You asked and he nodded.

  
“Let’s get up the trees, it is getting dark anyway and you should sleep a bit” He said as you two dropped down your bags to get the ropes out.

“You should also get some sleep” You whispered and he smiled tired.

“Of course” He whispered and the two of you climbed up the naked trees till high up in the crown and settled down there.

Each of you on another tree. You sat down on one of the stronger branches, thank god you were pretty thing of the poverty back home, so you didn’t had to be scared of the branch breaking.

The sky got quickly darker and soon it was pitch black and the stars were visible. They weren’t real for sure, but it still looked pretty like this. It remind you of home. Of district four. Now you knew what had disturbed you about the glowing city the most and what you had dearly missed.

The night sky.

The stars and the moon.

Since the city was like a bright beacon, you couldn’t make out the stars the past few days. But here and at home you didn’t have so much electricity and no one used this much late in the night. Suddenly a bright announcement appeared in the sky and music played, announcing the fallen tributes. District one was down completely, district two still had their girl, Kidman, district three was also down, district five was left with their girl tribute, district six was only represented by a guy now, district eight was only left with Tatiana, district nine was still there completely just like district four. But district ten was whipped out and district eleven had only lost Leslie today.

It made you sad to see his face again. You didn’t know him well, but he had provided you with food and had helped you with Josephs stalkers. He had been innocent and ill. He shouldn’t have been here. He should have been in a clinic, he should have been received help and not being put in here.  
District twelve was also taken out of the game.

This meant there were still eleven people in the Arena and that the game would start to get more interesting with time. The game makers will soon start to trigger traps, just like the one that had taken Leslie and a few other with it. You would survive this mess and make the capitol pay for this shit. You would make everyone pay.

Every single person.

You soon dozed off as the music stopped playing. It was cold and you had turned your jackets on the other side, so that the black side was on the outside and no one would notice the two of you. You also had decided to take off your pants and just sleep there in your leggings, since the snow pants that Joseph had been wearing and the sweats that you had been wearing had been pretty bright and if anyone had looked up they would have noticed that something was off. But no one would suspect anything like this.

 

* * *

 

  
You woke up as the sun lights hit your face and sat up straight. You could hear voices and looked over at Joseph, who had his finger on his lips, showing you to stay quiet and pointed down.  You looked in the direction where he was pointing to and saw two girls. You instantly recognised Kidman and the girl with her must be Tatiana. There was a guy with them too. Tatiana was holding him down, suffocating him, while Kidman was stabbing him anywhere but his vital points.  
They were playing with him. Torturing him. Making him suffer unnecessary. It made you mad, but you couldn’t do anything, just watch.  
The snow around them slowly turned red as he was bleeding out. He was still trying to free himself of the suffocating grip that Tatiana had on him, but she didn’t let go. She only did it as the canon went off and got up slowly.

“Good work” She hummed and walked over to Kidman and kissed her cheek.

Did they knew each other from before? But this was impossible. No one was allowed to travel from one district to another. But maybe it was just like with you and Stefano. Maybe they had fallen for each other in such a short time. It still didn’t excuse their sick methods to kill off other tributes.  
It was just disgusting.  
They admired their work for a while, before they went on, leaving you and Joseph and the corpse alone.

“If we get down, make sure not to step in his blood” Joseph said and you nodded.

How could he stay so calm? They had just killed a guy, right underneath you and he just told you not to step in his blood.  
You sometimes forgot that you were part of the most brutal games in history and moments like this made you remember in what hell hole you were right now. As no one was in sight, you and Joseph climbed down the trees. There were only ten tributes left and you could be the only one district that was still in here with both tributes. Your chances were pretty high with you two being the last ones to stay alive. But you weren’t so sure after you had seen the scene the knife wives had just caused.

  
You made sure not to step in the tributes blood and the two of you made their way in the other direction in which the girls had walked to and walked over to the cornucopia.

  
The valley was soon in sight and you walked around the forest, searching the closest spot to the cornucopia. You had long ago put back on your clothes and turned the jackets back. You soon decided that this was the closest you two would get to the cornucopia, without being seen. You put down your backpack and gave it to Joseph.

“I will go alone. You will look out for potential enemies” You said and he was about to protest, but you shoved the bow and the arrows in his arms.

“You will be covering me. You are way better with this than I am. A born sniper. I might just straight up shot you in the head” You said and he nodded and took the weapon from you.

“Just make sure to be quick, okay?” He asked and you nodded and made yourself ready to sprint.

“See ya” You whispered and ran for your life.

You quickly reached the building and soon found what you were searching for.

 

A spear with a trident on top.

 

You heard footsteps and turned around. You nearly screamed as you saw the two girls and hid behind the boxes.

“The footprints lead right in here” Tatiana said and looked around.

“Come out little kitten and let us play with you” Kidman called out and smiled coldly.

Tatiana screamed out of a sudden. A scream in pain. You looked over the edge of the box and saw an arrow stick in her side. Another arrow flew in her direction and pierced right through her eye and in her skull. You could hear a faint crack and as she fell, she turned around to you, her other eye wide and pain filled.

Is this how Stefano had lost his eye?

As soon as the thought appeared, you pushed it away and tried to concentrate on your life. Kidman dropped to the ground, catching Tatiana and screaming in sadness and sorrow. You didn’t thought she could do that. This was your chance tho. Getting rid of her. She would only go on a killing spree anyway.  
You knew you couldn’t kill her from up close, so you decided to throw the trident. You got up, but still stood behind the boxes and aligned yourself.  
You got into position and your muscles tensed up as you lift up the pretty light lance.

  
The girl didn’t seem to notice you, so you threw. In the same time as it pierced through her skull, an arrow smashed right through her chest. She fell and dropped on top of Tatiana. Blood spread out on the white snow. Soaking in it. It looked like a masterpiece. Like it should be in the gallery where Stefanos photographs were on display, but in the same time it was disgusting. You pulled out the trident out of Kidman head. There were some bone parts and blood on it.  
Also a bit of her brain had sticked to the top of the lance. The smell and view made you gag, but you didn’t vomit. Yet.  
Two canons went off and you walked back to the forest.

  
You had made sure to not walk into their blood as you had walked around the two bodies and out of the cornucopia.  
There had been bloody patches all around the cornucopia and some blood splattered across the walls, but there hadn’t been even one corpse lying around.  
Did the capitol let someone pick those up? Stefano had probably mentioned what is happening with the bodies, but you couldn’t remember. Not that it was relevant, as long as that thing wouldn’t attack the two of you. Suddenly you heard Joseph scream your name from a completely different direction to which you were going and you looked up.

  
A huge wave of water emerged from the forest of the direction you were going into.

  
But this time the water was more aggressive and quicker and crashed right in the valley and you had no time to run away and were taken by the flood.

Condemned to drown.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making you all wait for so long. stuff was happening.

The cold liquid snatched the air out of you, leaving you to suffocate.  
You have been ripped off your feet and was now being pushed around in the water. You were trying to find the surface, but with the harsh movements of the water, it was hard.  
It went on like this for a long while, you had your eyes closed and was trying to hold your breath for the whole time, praying that you would survive this.  
You held the spear in your hand, not wanting to let it go and it being manipulated by the water and suddenly piercing you.  
The water soon calmed down and you put the spear between your legs, up between your thighs and swam like mad to the light.  
You had just opened your eyes to make out in which direction to swim.  
You hit the surface and took in a huge gulp of air with a loud gasp.  
“Y/N!” You heard someone scream, but you were dragged back down under the surface by your heavy clothes.

  
Your strength left you after a while and you could feel yourself drown deeper in the valley.  
Suddenly two strong arms grabbed you and dragged you back to the surface and you were soon out of the water.  
You coughed hard and cried out as the hot air filled your lungs. It hurt so much to breath.   
You turned to your side and coughed out the water that had been hurting your lungs so bad that you thought they were on fire.  
Someone was suddenly above you, blocking away the sun.  
“Ste…. Joseph” You whispered as your vision cleared up and you smiled softly.

  
“You are alive” He whispered and pulled you in a gentle hug.

  
“Nice shot back there” You whispered and he chuckled softly.

  
It was the first time you had heard him laugh.  
“I was so scared that there would be only seven of us left and that I couldn’t keep the promise. But now we are still eight-“ He was interrupted by two canons going off and he looked up, looking around and making sure no one was close.

  
“Since when do you talk so much” You whispered and sat up slowly, coughing out the remaining water out of you.

  
You starred over to lake, where the cornucopia was chilling at the bottom.  
Joseph had saved you with the trident. You were sure you had let that thing go once you had hit the surface, but here it was with you.  
“You need to get your stuff dry” He said, but you protested.

  
“There are still five tributes there and we don’t know their skills. We should move on” You said, but Joseph shook his head.

  
“You will only freeze to death. We will make a small fire and hang up your clothes while hiding in the trees again.

  
It is getting darker again, anyway. We will go up and hide and if anyone should drop by, we have a chance to kill them by surprise” He said any you nodded.  
You had agreed to his plan but you talked a bit more and changed it.  
It was true that the fire would show other tributes where you are and you weren’t ready for another confrontation. You were still confused to how you could keep your cold after killing a person.

  
Maybe because you have see how cruel she was and thought that she deserved it, but you knew that no one deserved to die.  
You would put up more fire places around the cornucopia lake and let the other tributes wander around.  
As Joseph put up the main one, you put up the other ones. You finished as it was already dark, since it had cost you some times to get the branches and to start the fire through error and trial. But in the end there were six fireplaces all around the lake.  
You headed back to Joseph and gave him your clothes, such as your sweatpants and your thick jacket.  
He had insisted on you taking his jacket and that if someone would find him they wouldn’t ask him why he had two jackets, so you agreed and had put it on over your thermos shirt and had climbed up on of the thin trees with a rope. You got pretty high and tied yourself to the tree once again and leaned back.  
As you settled down, the music started once again and you could see the faces of the fallen tributes.  
The first one to shine on the night sky was Juli Kidman from district two. Now her district was out of the game.  
There was the guy, Tatiana and Kidman had been torturing in the early morning. He had been from district six. Now there was no tribute left of district six.  
Tatiana’s face was the next one to be seen on there. It made you sick in the stomach as you remembered how Joseph and you had killed the two of them. It made you think of Stefano and his injury. You didn’t hate it and you weren’t scared of it. You didn’t show pity since it was only a sign that he had survive this goddamn games and even if you do go out of here as a winner, you are still scarred for life by the capitol.  
District eight was now gone.

  
The last one to be presented was a guy from district nine.  
There were only seven people left, you two included. You started to remember who you had seen today and yesterday and soon knew who was left.  
District four and seven were the only ones that were still alive completely.  
It made you wonder if the two had also formed a pair and a strong bond.  
You dozed off lost in your thoughts about the games. People had died and more deaths were soon to come.  
The game makers would soon show their true intentions and it was only a matter of time for the others to find you, now that you showed them your location.  
You didn’t even know if the other five people are sticking together to kill the two of you and then start to hunt each other. You knew so little about what was yet to come.


	16. Chapter 16

You woke up by a scream nearby. It was a female scream, so you weren’t scared about Josephs well being in the first place.  
You looked down and saw that the fireplace was out. It was still dark so you couldn’t make out any form or silhouette.

“Y/N” You suddenly heard Joseph scream from down there.

“Get down!” He yelled and you slid down the tree.

You looked up as the forest light up in the distance.

“Get your clothes on quickly and lets run to the mountains. There is a wildfire spreading” He hissed and gave you your now dry clothes.

“Is this our fault?” You breathed out as you were finished and you took the other backpack and your spear from Joseph.

“No, the fire is spreading from a different direction. It must be another trap” He said and you run around the lake and in the direction of the mountains, but the fire was quicker.  
It spread like lava around the cold ground.  
The game makers had surely changed the trees density, since normally they wouldn’t catch fire that easily if there was snow laying around.  
The fire was soon around you but you still ran. You couldn’t just stop. The fire would eat you alive.

“If it’s get too close we are jumping in the wa-“ But Joseph cut himself off as the whole lake lit up in flames.

“RUN!” He yelled and you did. You passed him and ran out of the trees and  over to a hill where the mountains started.  
You heard a huge crack in the same time and something falling to the ground with a loud noise.  
You turned around and in the same moment a burning tree fell on top of joseph and two canons went off instantly.  
You dropped to the ground in disbelief. You didn’t make a sound and didn’t take off your eyes of the place where Joseph just had been running.

Why.

You could hear a few screams, but you yourself didn’t make a sound.  
Your partner was gone.  
The other tribute, no…. , the other person from district four was gone.  
Joseph Oda, age eighteen, orphan, good friend, good soul, friendly person. This man was gone now and would never return.  
You didn’t even look up as a hovercraft arrived and grabbed the body with its claw and dragged him out of the arena.  
They probably couldn’t risk it that the arena would start to smell like burnt flesh.  
You stayed like this for a while before you slowly got up and walked up the mountains. You decided to just stick away of any fight and just live through the arena.  
But the game makers had other plants.  
A strong wind suddenly came up and threw you off your feet. You hit your head hard and gasped at the pain that shot through your whole body. You were thrown against a hard stone and you passed out of the impact.  
The wind blew out the fire in the forest and disturbing some other Tributes

 

You gained conscious as you heard voices around you.  
You opened your eyes with a groan and turned to your side, holding your head and whimpering at the pain.  
You stopped as your fingers touched bandages and shot up, grabbing your trident and looking around.  
You nearly screamed at the pain getting stronger and tears shot in your eyes. You dropped to your knees, panting and letting go of your weapon.

“Stay down. You are only hurting yourself” A male voice said and pushed you down by your shoulders.

“Kill me” You whispered and leaned back.

“Come on, the pain isn’t that bad and we will do that later, no worries” He whispered and you passed out again.  
The next time you woke up, you were covered by an extra jacket.  
You sat up slowly and rubbed your eyes.

“You are awake” A girl said who was sitting next to you.

“Why are you helping me?” You asked the guy also walked over to the two of you and you gave him his jacket back.

“You received a parachute. But since she was injured in the leg we took half of your bandages” The guy answered.  
You recognised him as the tribute of district seven, but she wasn’t from district seven. She was the girl from district eleven.  
Leslies district.

“And I couldn’t let him kill you, after you had helped Leslie” She said and you looked up in her guilty looking face.

“He was my cousin. … but… I couldn’t help him…. He hated me for some reason” She whispered and tears rushed down her face, which she immediately whipped off.

“Tears should be saved for the winners, am I right? We can’t have the luxury to cry” She said and got up slowly.  
It made you sad that she thought that way, but she was right.

“We will move on now, but the next time we find you, I don’t think we will be so nice okay” The guy said and you nodded.

“How many died as I was knocked out?” You asked as they got up to leave.

“One. The other tribute of my district. She was kinda a bitch, so no worries” He said and you nodded.  
At least you didn’t know her, but he hadn’t had to speak of other people like this.  
So this means there were only four of you in here.  
The two of them that would probably hunt you and the girl of district nine they were about to hunt.  
You had to kill them before they kill you.  
You didn’t want to die. Joseph has given up his life for you. He had protected you and cared for you in the arena.  
You couldn’t die for his sake.  
You watched them as they left and walked over to the small parachute that was scattered to the side and opened it, taking out a small note that was still in there.

 

I believe in you. -S


	17. I want to die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for such a long time. I will upload the last 4 chapters now. They are not beta read, but at least the series is finished now. Plase forgive me.

You put the note away and put your hair up, since they had loosened your bun as they wrapped the bandages around your wound. You took your trident and followed their footprints.  
You had abounded your plan of hiding in the mountains. You weren’t a survivor anymore. You had to be a fighter.

The footprints lead you back in the forest and you decided to put up some traps on your own for the two tributes.  
You soon left the track of following them and walked up to the river, filling up your flask, drinking something and wanting to continue your journey, but was stopped with grunts of a fight and a scream. You looked up and there they were. On the other side of the river.  
Three people fighting. Two girls and a boy.  
One of the girls hit the other one hard in the head and made her fall to the ground. It pissed off the guy and he went for a straight attack on the girl. She must have counted with it, since she cut open his jacket and pierced her dagger through his chest.  
The boy of district seven stumbled back with a loud scream and fell to the ground next to the girl.

It was now or never.

You crossed the calm river quickly, shuddering as the cold water got in your boots, but stayed silent.

You hid behind the trees and tried to get as close as you could. As you found the perfect spot, you waited.  
Waited till you at least heard one canon go off.

The girl from district nine went wild and started to kick the guy. Suddenly there was a crack of his skull heard and a canon went off soon afterwards.  
The tribute of district nine grinned and whipped the blood and sweat off her face and turned around to the other girl, that was laying on the hard snow, panting.

You didn’t want her to torture her. She was Leslies cousin.  
You got into position and pointed your lance in her direction.

There was the moment you made a mistake.  
You positioned your foot to get you in a steady position, but accidently walked on a dry branch, that cracked with a loud enough noise for the district nine tribute to her.  
She jumped to her feet and looked in your direction. She spotted you instantly and threw her dagger at you, just in the same time as you threw your trident.  
There was no time to dodge the attack.

You screamed as the dagger pierced through your jacket and in your left shoulder. The pain snatched out the air of your lungs and made you fall to the ground, panting.  
Another canon went off and you looked up with a whine.  
You had hit the girl right in the head. She was laying on the ground and the snow around her was beet red.

Now there were only the two of you left.

Leslies cousin and you.

You slowly dragged yourself to the girl from district eleven and laid down next to her.

Suddenly there were multiple noises of trees being ripped out of their places and there was a loud roar of the water. But you didn’t care at the moment.

“What’s your name?” You asked the girl as you slowly sat up and took her knife out of her hands.  
“Yukiko…. Hoffman” She whispered and you nodded.  
“Thank you for watching out… for Leslie” She whispered with a weak smile and you nodded.

The water had reached the small valley. All the trees around you were gone and the waves of cold water were getting closer within seconds.

“Of course. Greet him from me, will you” You said with a small smile and she nodded and closed her eyes.  
“Goodbye Yukiko” You whispered and raised the knife a little.

“Goodbye Y/N” She whispered back and you crashed her skull with your knife as the water was about to reach you.

 

Suddenly the water was gone. You were bowing over the girl of district eleven, Leslies cousin, Yukiko Hoffman. Your blood dripping down on her jacket and mixing with hers.

Something was being announced, but you couldn’t understand what the loud voice was saying.  
Tears streamed down your face and sobs left your lips as you were still bowing over her corpse.  
You had won. You have survived. You were alive. But for what price?

You didn’t even feel the pain in your shoulder anymore. The adrenaline, the grief and sadness. It was heavier than any physical pain.

You finally looked up in the sky and pulled the knife out of Hoffman’s skull and held it to your own throat.

 _ **“I want to die”**_ You whispered and were about to slice open your throat, but were stopped by electric shocks knocking you out.

The capitol couldn’t risk it for their victor to die, or the hunger games would lose their purpose.

You just now realized why Stefano had said everything he said in the beginning.  
It was better to die than to life with this burden the rest of your life.

But little did you know. This wasn’t the end of everything.

_This was only the beginning._


	18. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry once again. Here is the next chapter as previously stated.

You woke up in a hospital bed in the training center.

As you opened your eyes you looked around and saw all the people you knew, but they were all asleep.

There was Laura sitting with Myra on a couch by the door. Your mother and your father were sitting on another couch and dozing, leaning against each other.  
Stefano was sitting by your bed, sleeping with your sister on his lap. She had curled up against him what made you smile.

You inhaled sharply as you moved and you could feel the pain in your shoulder again and remembered everything that had happened just a few hours before.

“What a coincidence. You are awake” A voice said, you didn’t knew very well, but had surely heard somewhere before.  
You looked over to the door and saw the president standing there and behind him was one of the main game makers, Ruvik Victoriano.

The others woke up slowly and looked from you to the president.  
“Ruvik” Laura whispered and got up, walking over to her brother and kissing his cheek gently.  
The younger man smiled softly and held her close by her waist.  
“Could we have a moment alone?” The president said and looked at the people in the room.  
Everyone nodded and walked out, expect Stefano, who stayed.  
“Even you, Mr Valentini” Ruvik started, but was cut of with a movement of the presidents hand.  
The game makers voice was soft like silk, but harsh like thorns of a rose. He looked at the president with his cold eyes and looked back at the older victor of district four.

  
“I don’t mind if Mr Valentini hears what I had to say. We have had this conversation on our own as he had won the games a few years before” Mr Strate said and looked from Stefano to you.  
You sat up slowly and gasped loudly as the pain shot through your lungs and made it hard to breathe.  
“It’s okay. I am not here to hurt you, Miss Y/L/N” He said and sat down next to the bed.  
“I am here to welcome you to your new life as a victor and to make sure you understand the situation you are in” He said and you watched him, not saying a word, but nodding softly, showing him to go on with his speech.  
“You may lead a life you wish for. You can live with this man if you wish to, but don’t ever forget that your live belongs to the capitol and that you still have to obey my orders. That’s it for now. I hope you will remember my words and that we don’t have to have this conversation ever again” He said and got up again.  
“Congratulations to your victory, miss Y/L/N” Mr Strate said and left the room again.  
“Congratulations. It surely wasn’t easy to survive all of my traps” Ruvik said with a sly smirk and left the room, leaving the three of you behind.  
“Please close the door” You whispered as tears dwelled up in your eyes.  
Laura looked over at you and then at Stefano, who nodded and she left the room, closing the door after herself.  
As soon as you heard the door close you broke.  
You covered your face with your hands and you pulled your legs up and started to cry.  
Stefano wrapped his arms around you and pulled you closer as he sat down on the bed. He rubbed your back and left soft kisses in your hair, knowing that he couldn’t calm down the storm of sadness and grief inside of you.  
“They are all dead” You sobbed out.  
You didn’t manage more since right after this realization you just cried harder in Stefanos black suit.

 

You cried yourself back to sleep and as you passed out, Stefano laid you back down and pulled up the warm blankets, making sure you weren’t cold.  
You had gotten frostbites on your feet and legs of the water in the arena, what you hadn’t noticed back then.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

You had been out for four days before waking up another time, this time in the apartment you had been sharing with Joseph in the training center.

You woke up to a grey sky and to a heavy rain. You got up slowly from the bed with a soft hiss as your shoulder was still hurting, but at least you could breathe properly. You walked out of your bedroom and over to the living area.

“Y/N” You heard your mother and looked up to the dining platform where everyone was.  
They had just been talking in soft voices about something, as everyone looked up.  
Stefano was already out of his seat, but your sister and mother were quicker.  
They had soon reached you and were hugging you tightly.

“How do you feel?” Your mother asked as she leaned back again, but your sister was still clinging to your hips, what you didn’t mind.   
You drove your fingers through her hair and smiled softly in your mothers face.  
“I’m okay. Physically” You whispered and a tear escaped your mothers eye.  
“It’s okay” She whispered and hugged you again.  
You hugged her back tightly and rubbed her back.  
You didn’t have any more tears to spill. Your eyes were dry. Your feelings dead.

“Are you hungry?” She asked but you shook your head.  
“You have to eat, sunshine” You looked up as you heard Myra’s voice and sighed.  
You didn’t thought that a life with two mothers would be this annoying from the start off.  
“Let’s eat something, okay?” Your mom whispered and you nodded.  
“I will be back soon” You whispered as you leaned back and walked away, in the direction of Josephs room.  
You have never been in there, but then again, he hadn’t been in your room either, just that once when you had woken up the whole floor with your scream.  
The thought of it made you smile a bit. You had thought that those had been your worst days of your life, but you hadn’t been prepared for this. Even if Stefano had warned you, you had thought he had been overexaggerating, but he had been right from the start.

You walked over to Josephs closet and found what you were looking for.  
You found the white shirt he had worn on the day he had arrived and put it on over your black tank top.  
It even smelled a bit like him and home.

You made your way back to the dining platform and sat down next to Stefano and leaned back as you looked at your empty table.   
“Can you please talk, I hate the silence” You whispered and looked up slowly as you noticed that it had been quiet as hell.  
Myra soon picked up her conversation he had been having with your mother, while Laura talked with your sister and told her stories about the past few days.  
“Hot chocolate?” Stefano asked you and you looked up at him and nodded slowly.  
You wanted to smile, but you couldn’t. It hurt so much to force yourself to be happy, as the sadness was stronger.  
“It’s okay” He whispered as he noticed your inner troubles.  
You nodded at the Avox that brought you the mug and the server nodded back with a small smile.  
It had been the first time you had seen an Avox show a reaction to any of your actions. It confused you but also in the same time you were glad. If they could show feelings like this, maybe you will soon be back to your old self.  
Of course it would take much longer than you thought, but maybe you could soon enjoy your life again.

 

  
But there was hope.


	19. The Aftermath

A week later after the games had ended, your family was back in district four and had been moved to the victors village. Your hose was right next to Stefanos.  
But you had to stay in the capitol.  
Stefano had stayed with you. You had to attend some parties and there was also a victor party, which every winner had to attend every year, but Stefano would stay through all of them in the capitol.  
You were moved from the training center to some winner quarters. It was the place where the victors stayed at when they visited the capitols.  
Stefano had taken care of you over the past few days after your family had returned to district four.  
He had given you your private space if you needed it,  but had always been there through your attacks and your nightmares.

“You look amazing” He breathed out as you walked out of the bedroom the two of you shared.  
You were dressed in a long aquamarine dress. Myra had designed it for you.  
Today was the party of the winners and they would introduce the latest winner to the capitol.  
“Thank you” You whispered and a small smile appeared on your lips.  
He was wearing his black suit once again and black gloves, but his tie was matching your dress.  
Same colour and glitter on the tip. Just like your dress which was decorated with glitter in the lower part.  
“You don’t look bad yourself” You said and he chuckled and walked over to you.  
“I won’t leave your side the whole time” He whispered and kissed your hair gently, not wanting to ruin your stylists work.  
You nodded softly and the two of you headed out. Your transport was already waiting for you and got you over to Strate’s mansion.  
It was decorated with bright lights and colourful shapes.  
The two of you got out and you met up with Laura, who greeted you with bright smiles.  
“You two look like a couple” She hummed and hugged you tightly.  
She never lost her cheery attitude.  
“Come on in, everyone is already waiting for you, Y/N” She added with a bright smile and guided the two of you through the huge gardens.   
She started to pick some small chats and Stefano was greeted by some people, but never left your side.  
He had his hand on your bare back the whole time, since you were wearing a backless dress.  
You managed to hold up a polite smile.  
You didn’t want the capitol to notice that they had destroyed you in every way possible.

Laura guided the two of you around the mansion and showed you everything, but soon the three of you ended up in the huge backyard where the party was taking place.  
Music was playing and everyone was talking, eating and drinking.  
You were standing by a table with Stefano and each of you were holding a flute of champagne.  
“How do you feel?” He asked you as he noticed the troubled look on your face.  
He brushed a strand of hair behind your eye and tilted your face up by your chin, making you look up at him.  
“Still like shit, but at least I am beautiful shit” You said and smiled softly.  
“Didn’t knew you had that kind of humour” He admitted and smiled a bit.  
The two of you were approached by the winner of the 20th hunger gameso from district eleven and the winner of the 12th hunger games from district one.  
“Nice win back there. You haven’t killed as many as I had, but you have good tactical skills, just like your ally had” Said the winner from district one and bowed down slightly.  
The winner from the 20th games glared at him and hit him in the back of his head.  
She was wearing a silver dress and her made up made her look like the moon itself.  
“You promised me you would go easy on her” She hissed and looked over at you with an apologetic smile.  
“I’m sorry about his attitude. We just wanted to congratulate you and see if we could tie a small friendship over here, since you seem to be good with Stefano” She said with a small smile and nodded at the other winner, who nodded back at her.  
“This is Luna from district eleven. Winner of the 20th games and this is Steel from the 12th hunger games and from district one which you had probably noticed by his attitude. They have been a couple for two years now” Stefano introduced them to you and glared at the guy.  
“Don’t do that again or I will harm you” He hissed as Steel leaned up again with a sly smirk.  
“Easy there lover boy, don’t want to get locked up and leave your little muse all alone in this disgusting world” He said and looked over at the mansion with a gloomy look in his eyes.  
“It’s a pleasure to meet you” You whispered and Luna smiled at you and leaned over to you and kissed your cheeks.  
“It’s our pleasure” She whispered and leaned back again with a small smile.  
“Didn’t knew you had a thing for younger girls” Someone from behind of you said and your group turned around where a man in a green suit was standing. It had soft brown streaks on it, what made him look like a tree.  
“District seven, winner of the 14th games, Theodore Wallace” Stefano said and pulled you a bit closer, as if he was protecting you.  
Was he scared of that man?  
You looked up in his face and studied it as he was still holding eye contact with Theodore.  
“Relax. I won’t even touch her. It’s the first time I have seen you show emotions around a woman, you think I will try to take the only happiness away from a good buddy of mine?” He asked and Stefano relaxed slowly.  
Theodore came closer and greeted you with a kiss to your knuckles.  
“You looked better in the Arena than in this outfit” He said and smiled softly at you.  
It seemed like every winner hated their situation. It only made you wonder what was there to come. Sure the arena was a hard part of their realities, but it had been a few years for them now and they seemed so bitter towards the capitol.  
“Don’t leave her side, you hear me…” Theodore said to Stefano and leaned closer to him, whispering something to him.  
You looked at the two men confused but Luna suddenly wanted your attention.  
“I will drop by tomorrow, okay? I want to get to know you better. I will try to leave my boyfriend at home so he won’t be an asshole again” She said with a small smile and he started to protest, but gave up as soon as she glared at him.  
As you looked back at Stefano, Wallace was already gone and Stefano looked like if he had seen a ghost.  
“Stefano?” You whispered and leaned closer to him, touching his cheek gently, what snapped him out of his thoughts.  
He placed his hand over yours and looked down at you with a small smile.  
“Everything will be alright” He whispered and it scared you a bit.  
What had Wallace told him?


	20. Strawberry Jam

The president soon came out and on the balcony and welcomed everyone. He welcomed you especially and wished you a wonderful time.

He ended his speech with  a show of fireworks exploding above the garden.  
You watched them, leaning against Stefano. You looked up in his face and studied him as he was watching the sparks in the sky.  
He looked so relaxed out of a sudden. He hadn’t looked like this for the whole time you knew him.   
You gripped his jacket gently and pulled him down to you. He turned around to face you surprised and you kissed him.  
Your eyes had fallen shut and he pulled you closer instantly and kissed you back. It seemed like he had been waiting to do this for a while now.

You broke the kiss again and looked up in his eyes.  
“Thank you for everything” You whispered and he smiled softly as he looked in your eyes.   
His own seemed to glow a bit, but it was probably the firework.  
He leaned in for a second kiss and you let him, kissing him back, inhaling his scent.  
Your mind was blank for once. All the sadness gone. The grief. The memories. It was only occupied with the man who had taken care of you the whole time.

He leaned back again and kissed your forehead.  
“You two are cute” Laura said from behind you and you smiled at her as you looked over your shoulder.  
You saw some people look over at the three of you.  
You recognised them as the game makers and some sponsors.  
Why were they so focused on you?  
Stefano seemed to also notice them and glared at them, but they only grinned. He guided you away from the crowds and introduced you to some other victors.  
The winner of the 18th hunger games was really nice. She had won one year after Stefano.  
They were good friends now.  
“He had never shown any interest in any woman. You are probably the first one he actually likes. Make sure to not hurt him” She said and hugged you gently.  
Stefano hadn’t heard your conversation as he was talking to her husband, the winner of the 14th games, district twelve. He was a strong pale man, he kind of looked like an older version of Joseph.  
Joseph.  
The thought made you sad and you hugged the winner of the 18th games tightly.  
“You okay?” She whispered and Stefano looked over at the two of you and got closer to you.  
“I will take her back” He whispered and Esmeralda, the winner of the 18th games, nodded softly and let you go.  
“Joseph” You whispered and Stefano nodded softly.  
“It’s okay” He whispered and guided you over to the exit.   
Some sponsors and game makers were looking after you as you left the party.  
You passed the president, who didn’t look very happy about your early exit, but didn’t stop the two of you.

Stefano got the two of you a transport and you broke down in the car. You cried against his chest as he was holding you close to himself, rubbing your back and whispering words of comfort in your ear, but you just couldn’t stop yourself from crying.

 

The two of you got back in the apartment and he helped you out of the dress and got you under the shower.  
He left your underwear on, as you had started to cry harder as he had pushed off your bra strap.  
You were now in the warm shower and had slowly stopped crying. He was holding you close as the warm water ran down your small frame.   
You were still thin, but now you were also pale like the white tiles.  
You were gripping his arms gently and staying close to him as you calmed down.

He switched off the water after a while and put a towel over your hair and dried it gently.  
“Stefano?” You whispered out with a hoarse voice and he uncovered your face and looked down at you.  
“Yes?” He asked softly.  
“I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble” You whispered and he sighed softly and pulled you in a hug.  
“You don’t have to be, amor” He said and kissed your wet hair.  
You leaned in the hug and the two of you stayed like this for a while, before you started to get goose bumps and he wrapped you up in the towels and carried you out. He brought you in the bedroom and gave you your pyjamas, which you put on yourself, halfway, till you started to get really tired and he helped you in them.  
“Do you want pancakes for breakfast?” He asked as he laid down next to you and held you close.  
“With strawberry jam, please” You whispered and you heard him chuckle.  
“As you wish” He hummed and kissed your hair as you slowly fell asleep in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end. Sorry once again for keeping you all waiting for so long. I am an awful person. I hope you still enjoyed this and I will beta read it as soon as possible for the people who come after you. If you had found some grave mistakes or there are some unclear things, just hmu in the comments. And you don't need to tell me that I should describe stuff more. I know that and it is one of my biggest flaws, that I don't get into details very much and I am working to improve myself in this aspect.  
> With this said, I wanted to thank you still for keeping up with me over all that time and sorry once again for the inconvenience.


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